Two of the country's largest nursing unions are to stage a rally in Dublin later today.
However, unions bosses stress the event will not affect services to patients and clients as activists, who are expected to travel from all over the country, will attend in their own time.
The Irish Nurses Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association, which represent more than 40,000 members, will meet in the Helix Theatre, Dublin City University, this morning.
A joint action plan to address pay and working hours will be detailed to angry members at the event.
The Labour Court recently ruled against the unions in their claims for a nurse's working week to be reduced to 35 hours and other pay-related issues.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said nurses from every area of the health service would attend the rally. He said union's campaign would now boast a plan of action with a multi-strand approach in securing satisfactory progress on a number of issues, some of which have been outstanding for 26 years.