Nurses stage protest at Mater Private Hospital
A pay dispute at the Mater Private Hospital worsened today as nurses protested outside its front doors.
Dozens of disgruntled staff and union leaders demonstrated at the north Dublin specialist care centre as pressure mounted on management over wage cuts.
Paul Bell, spokesman for trade union Siptu, which represents admin staff, claimed employees were angry salaries were being hit when the Mater Private continued to make profits.
“The hospital is very profitable, I cannot start accepting that profitable organisations can cut pay,” he said.
“I would understand if the hospital was not profitable and was having difficulties. Then, yes, we would have to talk about reductions in pay.”
The lunchtime protest was organised by Siptu and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) ahead of a planned strike from February 1.
It is understood about 400 employees at the Mater Private are members of Siptu or INMO and that both sides were engaging behind the scenes to avoid a strike.
Mr Bell cautioned there was no sign of a resolution with management over the proposed 5-7.5% pay cuts.
“At this moment in time I don’t have any hopes of a resolution because management have failed to grasp the nettle,” he said.
“We understand management want to talk to us about their problems, to justify the manner in which they took the action. However, we want our issues on the agenda.
“The union is not refusing to have dialogue once the agenda is addressed.”
Dismissing claims next month’s strike will place patients’ lives in jeopardy, Mr Bell said hospital management had been given adequate notice to make alternative arrangements.
“The reason the Mater Private have been given 14 days notice is to allow them to make alternative arrangements for patients,” he said.
“In a private hospital most of the work, if not all, is elective.”
