Ambulance drivers have voted for a national strike in support of 19 colleagues in Wicklow, who are in dispute with the Eastern Health Board which wants to relocate four of them at a new depot in Arklow.
SIPTU is to serve notice on all health service managers for a series of one-day strikes, followed by continuous strike action from August 10th.
The Wicklow dispute has been dragging on for five weeks and the EHB has used Army ambulances to provide emergency services. The chief executive of the Health Employer Services' Association, Mr Gerard Barry, criticised SIPTU last night for "deciding to escalate into a national dispute what is a local issue. This is a totally disproportionate response for the issues involved."
He said the changes would result in minimal roster alterations and the opportunity to earn an extra £500 a year without working longer hours. The dispute was denying a better-quality service.
SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Mr Matt Merrigan, defended the strike ballot and said the changes meant a deterioration in members' living standards. The EHB had sought to increase the number of drivers operating the new system by eight, but the Department of Health had sanctioned only four extra posts. The union was willing to compromise and accept an overall staffing level based on six extra drivers.
SIPTU is also seeking unspecified lump sums for the drivers affected by "social disruption" due to the reorganisation. The first one-day national ambulance strike is planned for Wednesday, July 29th.
Meanwhile in Limerick Regional Hospital, 112 nurses in SIPTU are threatening a work to rule. They say staff shortages, combined with "punitive" and "inflexible personnel policies" have led to worsening working conditions.