Up to 10,000 staff will strike amid a dispute over pay.
Thirty-eight hospitals in the Republic of Ireland will face serious disruption later this month as healthcare staff serve notice of a 24-hour strike on Thursday 20 June.
Up to 10,000 staff will strike amid a dispute over pay. An agreed job evaluation scheme recommended staff receive pay rises of up to €3,000 per year – but the recommendations were never implemented.
In a letter notifying the Health Service Executive (HSE) of the strike action, Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) warns that if parties refuse to enter meaningful negotiations further strike action will take place on 25 and 26 June and on 2, 3 and 4 July 2019.
Healthcare assistants, maternity care assistants, estates and domestics staff will take part in the action.
95% in favour of strike action.
Paul Bell, Health Division Organiser at SIPTU, said: “SIPTU representatives hoped that this day would never come and that the HSE, Department of Health and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform would see sense, and honour our members’ job evaluation process.
“Members employed in chef grades are also taking action. They co-operated with an independent review process of their pay relationship with similar grades in the public health service and in recent weeks have had their hopes of achieving pay justice dashed.”
He went on to add: “The ball is now in the court of the Government. The Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, has a small three week window to resolve this dispute or face the consequences.
“Our members voted overwhelmingly by 95 per cent in favour of taking strike action.
“They will not back down until they win this campaign for pay justice.”