More than 100,000 public and civil servants are due to start industrial action on Wednesday.
Nurses, special needs assistants, and Department of Social Protection staff are among those who will take part in the work-to-rule action.
The move comes as unions step up pressure on the Government to enter talks on a new public sector pay deal.
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The impact on the public should be relatively minor at this stage, with union members instructed to fulfil their contractual obligations but not to provide unscheduled cover for colleagues, do overtime, or participate in training.
RM Block
These instructions mean that in workplaces with existing staff shortages, and where cover is normally provided, the impact may be more obvious.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said its members will be focused only on core responsibilities during shifts.
“As part of this action, nurses and midwives will be focusing solely on the provision of safe patient care,” it said. “They will perform only those duties and responsibilities necessary for safe patient care during their rostered hours.
“Members will not work any additional unpaid hours. They will not attend non-clinical meetings, except where attendance is strictly necessary for direct patient care.
“They will also not co-operate with audits, information requests, or reporting functions that are not directly related to immediate patient care.”
Unite said it is supportive of the action, but its members will not participate in advance of the proposed one-day public service stoppage in two weeks.
Fórsa, the largest public service union in the State, has instructed its special needs assistant members to perform any work they would routinely do but no more from Wednesday.
In relation to work carried normally out on voluntary initiatives like local breakfast clubs, the union has instructed its members that they are entitled to withdraw services.
Some other school staff are participating in the work-to-rule, but members of the Irish National Teachers Organisation in primary schools and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland are not due to commence their action until Monday.
The other secondary union, the Teachers Union of Ireland, is due to announce the result of its ballot on action later this week.
The expectation is that if the action continues, almost all schools will close on October 14th when the participating unions have scheduled a one-day strike.
Siptu’s lead health division official Kevin Figgis said members in 30 hospitals are undertaking the work-to-rule because “the Government has failed to provide a credible forum to negotiate public sector pay proposals that reflect the reality facing workers and their families ... Unless meaningful engagement takes place without delay, the campaign will intensify in the weeks ahead and will ultimately lead to strike action on October 14th.”
The last public sector pay deal expired at the end of June. Unions claim a new arrangement should address what they said is an “at least” 5 per cent drop in real earnings since 2020.
In preliminary talks, the unions sought undertakings to this effect, and the engagement broke down. The Government has said consistently it is willing to resume meetings but without preconditions.
