Ireland’s nurses and midwives have today announced plans to go on strike for 24 hours at the end of this month.
Some 37,000 staff are due to withdraw their labour for 24 hours on Wednesday 30th January over a pay dispute.
If the dispute is not resolved, INMO members will launch further 24-hour strikes on 5th and 7th of February, and then the 12th, 13th and 14th of February.
Nurses and midwives will provide only lifesaving care and emergency response teams during the period of strike action.
The action follows a ballot in December in which 95% of INMO nurses and midwives voted to strike. This would be only the second national strike in the INMO’s hundred-year history.
The dispute centres on safe staffing in the public health service. The INMO claims that the HSE has not been able to recruit and retain enough nurses and midwives on current wages. The number of staff nurses fell by 1,754 (6%) between 2008 and 2018, according to the organisation.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Going on strike is the last thing a nurse or midwife wants to do. But the crisis in recruitment and retention has made it impossible for us to do our jobs properly. We are not able give patients the care they deserve under these conditions.
“The HSE simply cannot recruit enough nurses and midwives on these wages. Until that changes, the health service will continue to go understaffed and patient care will be compromised.
“The ball is in the government’s court. This strike can be averted. All it takes is for the government to acknowledge our concerns, engage with us directly, and work to resolve this issue, in a pro-active manner.
“We were due to meet with the government in the national oversight body in December, but the meeting was cancelled. Like many patients in Ireland’s health service, we are still waiting for an appointment.”
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