Health Service unions are seeking supplementary funding for the Health Service so it can continue to deliver services at the levels available for the first seven months of this year.
At a special two-hour meeting of the Ictu Health Service Staff Panel, held today to discuss the Health Service Executive's (HSE) decision to continue the staffing restrictions, the unions agreed to seek additional funding from the Government.
On Monday, the HSE decided to continue with its recruitment freeze, which began last month, in a bid to reduce its financial deficit, which is currently running at over €200 million.
But the unions, which include Siptu, Impact, the Irish Nurses Organsiation and the Irish Medical Organisation, believe that the HSE was in breach of the Towards 2016 pay agreement when it announced the staffing restrictions.
The unions also announced they would go to the Labour Relations Commission which it believed would confirm a breach of the agreement has taken place and that the staffing restrictions and cutbacks should be withdrawn.
The unions are also advising members to continue their refusal to comply with the cost-cutting programme as advised in letter sent out two weeks ago.
Earlier, the HSE confirmed that a number of surgical and gynaecological procedures at Cavan General Hospital have been postponed due to the recruitment freeze.
It said consultants who booked leave would not be replaced by locum staff other than to support emergency on call cover as part of the hospital's financial break-even plan.
The move has resulted in the postponement of 18 minor-intermediate surgeries over two weeks, the HSE said. No major surgical cases or cancer cases have been deferred.
"This cost containment measure has been taken in order to realign our services to existing levels of service and within our allocated budget," it said in a statement.