Hospitals prepare for further stoppages
Final contingency plans were under way in medical facilities across Ireland tonight at thousands of nurses prepare for a another series of rolling work stoppages.
One-hour protests will be held outside hospitals and psychiatric services in Sligo, Louth and west Cork tomorrow, as nurses and midwives escalate their campaign for better pay and working hours.
With a nationwide work-to-rule now in its second week, the latest round of industrial action by the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) is set to affect 12 facilities across counties in six counties.
From 11am to noon, thousands of staff will picket at Sligo General Hospital and Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Services; Louth County Hospital, and Dundalk and Louth Mental Health Services; and Bantry General Hospital and West Cork Mental Health Services.
While on Wednesday, one-hour work stoppages will be held at St James's Hospital, Dublin, and St Patrick's Psychiatric Hospital, Dublin; Portlaoise General Hospital and Laois/Offaly Mental Health Services; and Ennis General Hospital and Clare Mental Health Services.
The action followed protests last week outside two of Dublin's biggest hospitals as well as health facilities in Tipperary, Roscommon, and Portrane, north Dublin.
More than 40,000 nurses and midwives belonging to the INO and PNA are seeking a 35-hour working week for their members and a 10.5% pay increase, outside of the Government's benchmarking process.
The Bantry Branch of the INO is calling on all available nurses and midwives in the Cork and Kerry area, and members of the public, to come and support the short work stoppage, and the Government to listen to nurses and midwives from the front lines.
"The future of nursing and midwifery professions lies in the immediate concession of a 35-hour working week for all nurses and midwives and they will not be deflected from their absolute focus on securing this vital change to their working lives," said INO Industrial Relations Officer, Patsy Doyle.
"The pay anomaly, where social care workers earn €3,000 more than the nurses they report to, is economically unjust and inherently unfair and needs immediate adjustment.
"The constant deflections, criticisms and spin-doctoring which Government has engaged in has merely strengthened the resolve of nurses and midwives to continue this campaign to the bitter end."
Meanwhile, more than 200 SIPTU nurses at the Union's National Nursing Convention in Castlebar, were tonight told pay claims would be made through benchmarking.
"Through benchmarking, SIPTU has made a case for the appropriate reward and recognition of nurses and midwives, based on their delivery of quality public health services," said Louise O'Reilly, SIPTU's National Nursing Organiser.
"But while we may have ruled in social partnership and the benchmarking process, we have not ruled out anything which we believe would benefit the nursing profession.
"Outside of benchmarking, there can be no meaningful discussions on issues of concern to nurses that do not involve all nursing unions. And whenever and wherever these discussions take place, SIPTU will be there."
