SIPTU has notified the National Ambulance Service (NAS) of its intention to conduct strike action next month as part of a long-standing dispute with the HSE regarding unimplemented recommendations from a 2020 independent report.
Last week, approximately 2,000 SIPTU members in the NAS, from across the country, voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, up to and including strike action.
The first date of action will be a 24-hour stoppage on 12th May, followed by a 48-hour stoppage beginning on 19th May and a 72-hour stoppage beginning on 26th May, with further strike action planned for June.
The dispute involves members working as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Paramedics, Advanced Paramedics, Specialist Paramedics and Paramedic Supervisors.
SIPTU Ambulance Sector Organiser, John McCamley, said: “A work-to-rule will also be put in place from 11th May, involving non-cooperation with new procedures or changes. The dispute arises from the NAS’s failure to update staff salary scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workload over the last 20 years.
“The Independent Review of Roles and Responsibilities report, published in May 2020, was to address these ongoing changes, including updating salary scales. To date, its recommendations have not been implemented. SIPTU members have been left with no other option but to issue notice for strike action due to this long-running dispute.
“The overwhelming mandate from our members for industrial action up to and including strike action is an indication of the depth of feeling within the service that their sacrifice and commitment to the professionalisation and modernisation of the service have been forgotten about by the HSE.”
“Ambulance personnel have implemented changes within the service, seeing the model move away from just a patient transport to a higher degree of pre-hospital care and treatment. Operational practice guidelines for dealing with different incidents have increased dramatically over the years, including the need for additional training and qualifications. SIPTU members working in the NAS are highly trained and educated health professionals. They work in a largely autonomous and occasionally hazardous environment.”
He added: “Our members exercise clinical judgement, deliver complex and lifesaving care, including the administration of medications. For instance, EMT and Paramedic grades have increased their responsibility for administering various medications by 89% and 83%, respectively, since 2011. They perform lifesaving interventions and make complex decisions about specific care pathways. All we are asking is that, like other health professionals, their training qualifications are respected and recognised in an appropriate grading and pay structure.
“We are calling on the HSE to implement the recommendations of the independent report without preconditions. To introduce enhanced pay scales which properly recognise the training and professional level of our members.”