Paramedic strike action ‘not satisfactory’, says Taoiseach
By Cillian Sherlock and Claudia Savage, Press Association
The paramedic strike action is “not satisfactory”, the Taosieach has said, as the health service warned of potential delays.
Workers in the National Ambulance Services – including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, advanced paramedics, paramedic specialists and paramedic supervisors – began a 24-hour strike action at 8am on Tuesday.
The Health Minister has been urged to engage with paramedics over what unions say is an ongoing failure of management to implement the 2020 roles and responsibilities review.
The unions say qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties of ambulance personnel have expanded significantly in recent years.
They also say a 5 per cent increase recommended under the benchmarking II process has not been delivered.
The strike involves pickets at ambulance depots which began at 8am, including at Davitt Road in Dublin South Central and in Dundalk.
Unions have agreed contingency plans with the HSE to ensure that patient safety is prioritised during the dispute.
Further work stoppages are scheduled for May 19th and 26th, with additional action planned during June if the dispute is not resolved.
Siptu ambulance sector organiser John McCamley said union members “have been left with no option but to issue a strike notice due to this long-running dispute”.
The Minister for Health cannot stand back while ambulance workers are forced into industrial action
He said: “We call on the HSE to implement the recommendations of the independent report without preconditions and to introduce enhanced pay scales which properly recognise the training and professional level at which our members now carry out their duties daily.”
Speaking to reporters in Dublin after the strike began, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “It is not satisfactory for patients or the people generally that a first-responder service should be mired in industrial action of this kind.”
He urged unions to re-engage in dialogue, adding: “It is the only way this will get resolved.”
Unite regional officer Eoin Drummey said the HSE “can resolve this dispute by agreeing to implement the 2020 review immediately and without preconditions”.
On its website, the HSE warned there “will be delays responding to non-life-threatening calls for ambulances” on Tuesday into Wednesday.
“During this time, consider if another healthcare option might be suitable,” it said.
Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane accused the Government of failing to deal with long-running problems in pre-hospital emergency care services.
He called on Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to engage with workers and implement an agreed pay and grading modernisation plan.
He said: “The Minister for Health cannot stand back while ambulance workers are forced into industrial action.
“The minister must intervene directly, engage meaningfully with workers and ensure that ambulance workers get the respect, recognition and safe staffing that they deserve.
“The minister must take workforce planning seriously and implement a real workforce plan to train and retain the paramedics our communities need.”
