Serious disruption of services is threatened at Waterford and Tralee regional hospitals from next week because of a dispute over new rosters for junior doctors.
Management at the hospitals say the measure is a first step towards implementing an EU directive on reducing doctors' working time.
However, the Irish Medical Organisation, which represents non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs), claims the move is a cost-cutting one and will have a detrimental effect on patient care.
NCHDs at both hospitals have voted to take industrial action from next week. In Waterford the 62 doctors concerned unanimously supported the introduction of a work-to-rule, beginning mid-week. Mr Paul Connolly, an industrial relations executive with the union, said it would be notifying the South Eastern Health Board of the action planned.
About 70 doctors are involved in the dispute in Tralee. They are meeting today to decide on the action to be taken, but strike notice has already been served.
Mr Pat Madden, programme manager for the Tralee hospital, said management could not understand the reason for the strike threat and was "dismayed" by it.
"NCHDs have been seeking shorter working hours for years. The new arrangement means that their working week has been reduced by four hours," he said.
Mr Connolly said the new rosters had been imposed without consultation and would result in NCHDs working less at times when consultants were present and training was carried out.
Under the new regime, NCHDs would be required to work shifts of differing durations and with a variety of starting times. "They're being asked to work four hours here, six hours there and two here. It's completely unworkable," Mr Connolly said. He represents NCHDs at Waterford, but said the issues were the same at both hospitals.
Doctors would lose some overtime as a result of the measure, but this was not the issue, he said.
"It has nothing to do with money. It's purely a training issue. NCHDs are doctors in training. Under this regime they will be coming in at four in the morning, when they won't be getting training."
He accused management of pre-empting the outcome of a task-force study on how the EU working-time directive is to be implemented in hospitals. Under the directive NCHDs' working hours are to be reduced to 58 per week by 2004 and 48 by 2010.
The South Eastern Health Board said agreement had been reached in 2000 between the IMO and the Health Service Employers' Agency on a reduction in junior doctors' working hours, as part of a move to meet the EU directive. A spokeswoman said there was no question of training time being reduced.
