Planned strike action by support staff is deferred
THIS Thursday’s planned strike action by 10,000 health support staff was deferred on Wednesday evening.
SIPTU confirmed that the 24-hour workplace stoppage, that was set to impact on 38 hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide, has been deferred pending the outcome of emergency talks at the Workplace Relations Commission.
Tallaght University Hospital
The industrial action planned for Thursday involved SIPTU members working in areas such as portering, household and catering, alongside health care assistants, laboratory aides and surgical instrument technicians.
In a statement to The Echo, a spokesperson for Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) confirmed that both the adult service at TUH and the paediatric service at the Children’s Hospital would be impacted on by any industrial action.
Contingency plans were been put in place to ensure patient safety and, where possible, minimum disruption to patient services.
However, according to the hospital, outpatient appointments across both adult and children’s services were set to run as scheduled, with catering for patients being provided.
In a statement announcing the deferred strike action on Wednesday evening, SIPTU health divisional organiser Paul Bell said: “The strike action scheduled for [Thursday, June 20] is now deferred at the request of the Work Place Commission.
“Discussions on the implementation of the job evaluation scheme for SIPTU members in the health service will commence on Thursday, June 20.
“Preparations for strike for next Tuesday (June 25) and Wednesday (June 26) will continue.”
Visit www.tuh.ie or the Tallaght University Hospital Facebook page for further details and updates of any strike action.
