Ambulance union reps and HSE to resume talks in Labour Court over pay dispute

LAST UPDATE | 21 hrs ago

UNION REPRESENTATIVES FOR the National Ambulance Service expect talks with the HSE at the Labour Court to be “challenging”.

The Labour Court already held a meeting with unions representing workers in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) last Thursday, and a separate engagement with the HSE.

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians in trade unions Siptu and Unite had staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday last week amid a dispute over pay and conditions.

A further work stoppage had been planned for tomorrow but has been called off pending the direct talks between unions and the HSE at the Labour Court today. 

However, a work-to-rule action by ambulance workers continues.

Siptu ambulance sector organiser John McCamley said there was an “easy solution” to the dispute, which would be implementing recommendations around pay from a previous independent report.

Speaking to reporters outside the Labour Court before talks began on Monday, McCamley said: “I think they’ll be difficult, I think they’ll be challenging, and it is really up to the HSE if they want to resolve this dispute today.

“We’ll know more in a couple of hours, but our members are determined to see this through to the end.”

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“We obviously have our work-to-rule that is still in place, our 72-hour stoppage is still in place.

“So if we can’t find a resolution, unfortunately, I think we’ll have to engage in industrial action after today.”

The unions say the qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties of emergency medical technicians (EMT), paramedics, advanced paramedics, paramedic specialists and paramedic supervisors have expanded significantly in recent years.

They also say a 5% increase recommended under a previous process has not been delivered.

The unions want the HSE to drop preconditions around its pay proposal which critics have said would see a reduction in the number of trained paramedics in a crew and, because of changes to overtime, could see some pay decrease.

Asked if he had received a sign that the HSE is serious in the talks, the union representative said: “The only thing we have is that the Labour Court asked both parties in without any preconditions.

“That is a sign for us that people are serious in terms of negotiations.”

He added: “We will see if they are is in fact they have something for us today.”

Asked when a decision would be made on further action, McCamley said it would depend on finding a resolution but added: “Our members are determined and steadfast in their view of bringing this to a resolution.”

With reporting from Press Association 

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