The paramedic strike action is “not satisfactory”, the Taoiseach has said, as the health service warned of possible delays to ambulance responses.
Workers in the National Ambulance Service – including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, advanced paramedics, paramedic specialists and paramedic supervisors – began a 24-hour strike at 8am on Tuesday and lasted until this morning.
The Minister for Health has been urged to engage with paramedics over what unions describe as a continued failure by management to implement the 2020 roles and responsibilities review.
The unions say the qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties carried out by ambulance personnel have increased significantly in recent years, reports Breaking News.
They also claim that a 5 per cent pay rise recommended under the Benchmarking II process has not been delivered.
The strike includes pickets at ambulance depots that began at 8am, including locations on Davitt Road in Dublin South Central and in Dundalk, reports Breaking News.
Unions have agreed contingency arrangements with the HSE to ensure patient safety remains a priority during the industrial action.
Additional work stoppages are planned for May 19th and May 26th, with further action scheduled throughout June if the dispute remains unresolved, reports Breaking News.
Siptu ambulance sector organiser John McCamley said union members “have been left with no option but to issue a strike notice due to this long-running dispute”.
TheLiberal.ie won’t quit
Please support us with a small donation on PayPal!
He said: “We call on the HSE to implement the recommendations of the independent report without preconditions and to introduce enhanced pay scales which properly recognise the training and professional level at which our members now carry out their duties daily”, reports Breaking News.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin after the strike commenced, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “It is not satisfactory for patients or the people generally that a first-responder service should be mired in industrial action of this kind.”
He urged unions to resume discussions, adding: “It is the only way this will get resolved”, reports Breaking News.
Unite regional officer Eoin Drummey said the HSE “can resolve this dispute by agreeing to implement the 2020 review immediately and without preconditions”.
On its website, the HSE warned there “will be delays responding to non-life-threatening calls for ambulances” from Tuesday into Wednesday, reports Breaking News.
“During this time, consider if another healthcare option might be suitable,” it said.
David Cullinane accused the Government of failing to address long-standing problems within pre-hospital emergency care services, reports Breaking News.
He called on Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to engage with workers and implement an agreed pay and grading modernisation plan.
He said: “The Minister for Health cannot stand back while ambulance workers are forced into industrial action.
“The minister must intervene directly, engage meaningfully with workers and ensure that ambulance workers get the respect, recognition and safe staffing that they deserve.
“The minister must take workforce planning seriously and implement a real workforce plan to train and retain the paramedics our communities need”, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
