Staff to strike at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda next week
Health workers at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, are to engage in a one-day strike next Thursday 3rd April in a dispute over staffing numbers.
It is an escalation of industrial action by members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Fórsa.
As part of the dispute, 80,000 health workers will commence a work-to-rule in hospitals across the country from Monday 31st March.
Members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) began a work-to-rule yesterday.
Health unions are meeting with Health Service Executive management at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today. But in advance of the talks, the INMO and Fórsa informed the HSE that they will be escalating the dispute in the form of a work stoppage at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.
The unions said that the escalation is due to reports from members that they are being instructed by senior management in the Dublin Northeast Region to continue to book agency workers in all grades and disciplines throughout the period of industrial action that starts next week.
"This instruction demonstrates a complete disregard towards our planned industrial action, and that's why we’ve served notice this morning to management at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda," said Fórsa's head of Health and Welfare, Ashley Connolly.
General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the escalation of the dispute was not just about the hiring of agency staff.
"It is about deliberately attempting to undermine the dispute as notified, and to put pressure on people to break the dispute, and that's inclusive of overtime," Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.
Today's talks at the WRC are being attended by the INMO, Fórsa, Unite, Connect and the MLSA. SIPTU and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) are also represented at the talks.
In a statement, the HSE said it is approaching today's talks with unions at the WRC in a constructive spirit with a view to resolving the dispute in the public interest.
It has previously said that the planned industrial action is regrettable against the background of additional funding for the health service and increasing staff numbers.
According to the HSE, funding provided in 2024 and 2025 will allow the HSE to recruit an additional 6,528 staff in 2025 in addition to replacing departing staff.
It has warned that any industrial action would be seriously disruptive to the provision of services and will lead to increased delays and longer waiting lists.