SIPTU slams plans to shed 600 health service jobs
SIPTU has slammed plans to shed 600 jobs in the health service in the absence of consultation with staff.
The Health Service Executive has said it intends to shed the jobs this year, but has insisted that the cutbacks will not affect frontline services.
The Irish Nurses Organisation has already criticised the move and SIPTU has now echoed that criticism, saying job cuts would lead to a deterioration in the quality of services provided.
Spokesman Oliver McDonagh also expressed concern about the manner in which the cutbacks were announced, saying it may breach the latest social partnership agreement.
"We certainly hope that this is not indicative of how the new Health Service Executive is going to do business," he said.
"Firstly, they must be reminded that we have partnership processes out there and secondly, they must be reminded that their focus should be on improving the delivery of a better health service."
