Pickets are expected to be placed at some Dublin hospitals this morning as wildcat strikes by craft workers extend. However, it was unclear last night how much support the unofficial strikers would receive from other members of their union.
At the weekend craft workers at St James's and several other large hospitals in the Eastern Health Board area voted to oppose any unofficial action. A union source told The Irish Times that a meeting of craft workers on Saturday voted by two to one against it.
The source said there was a lot of anger among craft and general workers as "some people were preying on traditional loyalty to the picket with no legitimate basis on which to picket."
He said a substantial pay offer was on the table, and the unofficial action was being carried out "by a bunch of mavericks trying to take on the craft leadership."
The flying pickets, which affected hospitals and local authority facilities in several counties last week, were mounted by members of the craft group of unions. This represents all the main trades including fitters, plumbers, carpenters and electricians.
The protests have not been sanctioned by any union, and the craft group has appealed to members to pass pickets being placed by an "unrepresentative minority".
Another union source told The Irish Times that all the indications were that Dublin would be targeted early this week by the wildcat strikers.
"Nobody is sure what is going to happen, and there is an element of unpredictability about the whole thing. We're hoping it might peter out, but it's becoming more erratic," he said.
Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick, secretary-general of the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA), said he was not aware of the management of any Dublin hospital being advised of strike action today.
"The system is being totally undermined by these unnecessary wildcat strikes which have been condemned by the strikers' own unions," said Mr Fitzpatrick. "It is deplorable that the sick are being used as pawns because some sections of a union are dissatisfied with their own union."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said the major hospitals had contingency plans to deal with any action. He said the agreement reached in the Labour Court on Sunday, May 10th, to defer industrial action pending a ballot should be respected.
A spokeswoman for the Eastern Health Board, Ms Maureen Browne, said she was not aware of any plans to picket the James Connolly Memorial, St Colm cille's or Naas General. However, she said, contingency plans had been in place since the first threat of industrial action.
Spokesmen for St James's, St Vincent's and the Mater Hospital all said contingency plans were in place. But they could not discuss what these plans were.
It is unclear how effective any contingency plans will be, given that the strike is unofficial and that craft workers have not discussed with management the level of cover they are planning to give.