MEMBERS of the State's largest nursing union, the Irish Nursing Organisation, are expected to give overwhelming approval to strike action when their votes are counted today.
The union held a strike ballot after members rejected a £50 million pay offer from the Government under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work.
Under the INO constitution a two thirds majority is required in a ballot before the union can undertake industrial action.
However, it is thought extremely unlikely that the INO will fail to obtain the necessary strike mandate. If there is a two thirds majority, the union will serve strike notice for February 10th.
IMPACT nurses also rejected the latest pay offer and are currently being balloted. The two nursing unions which accepted the latest offer, SIPTU and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association, will ballot their members to take supportive industrial action if the INO goes ahead with its strike.
The INO is by far the largest nursing union, representing two thirds of nurses in the public health sector. If it takes strike action it has given commitments that emergency services will be maintained.