Talks to prevent strike at Mater Private Hospital unsuccessful

PAY CUTS:TALKS AIMED at averting a planned strike at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin, scheduled to start next week, were unsuccessful yesterday.

Siptu health sector organiser Paul Bell said the meeting with management at the hospital had been “informative but not productive”.

Siptu and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have served strike notice to come into effect at the hospital next Monday in a dispute over pay cuts.

Management at the hospital have sought to introduce cuts in pay of between 4 and 5 per cent for staff.

Mr Bell said management had wanted to refer the issue to the Labour Relations Commission but the union did not see any basis for such action.

Unions have also served strike notice on the Bon Secours group to come into effect on February 8th in a separate dispute over pay cuts for staff in its hospitals.

Separately yesterday about 20 members of Siptu’s Dublin health services branch staged a lunchtime protest outside of the headquarters of the State-owned private health insurer VHI.

Some private hospitals have said the move to introduce pay cuts for staff followed reductions in payments made to them by the VHI.

Siptu said the picket at VHI formed part of its campaign to have private hospital pay cuts reversed.

“The protest outside the VHI is because the health insurance company has so far failed to respond to correspondence seeking information on its funding for these hospitals.

“The hospital managements have cited cuts in VHI funding as the reason for the reductions in pay and allowances,” the union said.

VHI said the issue of pay cuts at the private hospitals was nothing to do with it.