Minister for Health Mary Harney is to face members of the Siptu health services division this evening at the National Nursing Convention in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Ms Harney is due to address the conference, which is looking at the changes taking place in the health service and the role of nurses in influencing this change. The conference will run until April 18th.
Siptu members are not taking part in the industrial action being carried out by members of the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) because they have chosen to go through the benchmarking process.
The union has asked its members not to carry out the tasks of their INO or PNA colleagues during work stoppages which are scheduled to resume at specific locations tomorrow, and to continue on Wednesday.
It has, however, renewed its call on the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Government to engage with all nursing unions in a bid to resolve the dispute, which centres around 35-hour working week and pay claims.