Health service: The State's biggest health union has threatened to block the Government's health service reform programme in the absence of a comprehensive agreement on staff issues.
Members of IMPACT have voted by a seven-to-one majority to take industrial action in the event of their concerns not being addressed, the union announced yesterday.
In the first instance, they plan to stop co-operating with the transition due to take place on January 1st, when the new Health Service Executive (HSE) is to take over day-to-day running of the service from the State's health boards.
IMPACT's members include senior managers and without their co-operation the transition cannot take place, the union says.
It served the interim HSE with three weeks notice yesterday of its intention to withdraw co-operation with the changeover from December 13th.
In the meantime, both the union and the new executive are likely to continue talks in an effort to resolve the issues between them.
IMPACT says it is not against the Government's reforms, but claims the existing health boards are being abolished before adequate new structures are in place.
The union's national health secretary, Mr Kevin Callinan, said yesterday that despite many meetings with the interim HSE and the Department of Health and Children, there were still no agreed safeguards for staff or services.
The union has 25,000 members in the health service, and balloted the 15,000 of these who work for health boards or are otherwise directly affected by the reforms.
They include both administrative staff and health professionals such as nurses, dentists and care workers.
Mr Callinan said the margin of the vote should send a strong message, with 88 per cent having voted for industrial action up to and including a strike.
In a statement, the interim HSE said it understood the concerns of IMPACT members, but the reassurances sought by staff had been provided.
"There will be no involuntary redundancies and the HSE has not sought funding for a voluntary redundancy programme," it said.
"To deliver improved patient care, it is necessary to keep experienced and skilled people in the system, not to lose them."Locations that currently had significant levels of health service employment would continue to do so, the statement added.
"Nobody will be asked to move to an area outside their existing health board region without consultation and agreement."
However, in a letter to the interim HSE chairman, Mr Kevin Kelly, on Tuesday last, Mr Callinan said assurances given by the executive to date fell "far short of what is required".
"IMPACT members are working hard to deliver public health services against a background of numerous challenges and problems," he said.
