IRELAND
Irish Ambulance drivers who took part in a 10-hour work stoppage have been told they are in breach of the current Public Service Agreement and their actions could have “consequences”.
The warning from the Health Service Executive (HSE) was made to the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (NASRA), a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA).
The 500 drivers are in dispute over trade union representation rights and the deduction of union subscriptions at source.
It is understood the threatened consequences refer to financial penalties that could be imposed on members of unions considered to be outside the Public Service Agreement.
These penalties include missing out on pay rises and increments and additional benefits for recent entrants.
The PNA said it strongly rejected the claim that its members were in breach of the Public Service Agreement.
A spokesman said the issues at the heart of the current dispute were quite separate to those covered by the Agreement and an escalation of the industrial action was possible.
The HSE said after the strike ended that, despite a “challenging environment”, all calls for help had been responded to and there had been no patient concerns raised.
It said it had received more than 600 calls for ambulances and 12 of these had been dealt with by Army personnel whom the Government had deployed to provide support to the Health Service during the strike.
The HSE also assigned managers who were qualified as paramedics to work in frontline services.
Dublin, 26 January 2019
