More than 2,000 frontline staff at the National Ambulance Service are to strike next month over a long-standing dispute about pay.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, advanced paramedics, specialist paramedics and paramedic supervisors are set to be involved in strike action.
On Monday, trade union Siptu announced the first day of action would be a 24-hour stoppage on May 12th, followed by a 48-hour stoppage on May 19th and a 72-hour stoppage from May 26th.
The union said there would be further strike action planned for June.
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John McCamley, Siptu’s ambulance sector organisation, said a work-to-rule will also be in place from May 11th, which would involve “non-cooperation with new procedures or changes”.
The dispute arises from a failure to update staff salary scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workload over the last 20 years, McCamley said.
An independent review of roles and responsibilities was jointly published by the ambulance service, Siptu and the HSE in 2020.
However, McCamley said its recommendations have not been implemented.
“Siptu members have been left with no other option but to issue notice for strike action,” he said.
“The overwhelming mandate from our members for industrial action up to and including strike action is an indication of the depth of feeling within the service that their sacrifice and commitment to the professionalisation and modernisation of the service have been forgotten about by the HSE.”
The union said there have been permanent changes within the service, moving from a patient transport service to a higher degree of “pre-hospital care and treatment”.
“Our members exercise clinical judgment, deliver complex and life-saving care, including the administration of medications,” McCamley said.
“They perform life-saving interventions and make complex decisions about specific care pathways. All we are asking is that, like other health professionals, their training qualifications are respected and recognised in an appropriate grading and pay structure.”
Staff have twice rejected proposals to resolve the situation, most recently in September when 70 per cent of those balloted voted against terms put forward by the Workplace Relations Commission.
In a statement in February, the HSE said it had supported the WRC proposals intended to resolve the dispute and “remains committed to engagement”.
It said the two unions should continue to participate in those processes as the “ballot for industrial action is unwarranted and presents a potential for impact on service delivery to patients”.
