Thousands of healthcare workers vote in favour of industrial action

Thousands of healthcare workers have voted "overwhelmingly in favour" of industrial action over staff shortages.

Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) working in the public service have voted 95.6% in favour of industrial action following a six-week, in-person ballot.

They were balloted on the non-filling and delayed filling of vacant and suppressed posts.

The largest public sector union Fórsa has also announced this Wednesday, November 27, that its members backed industrial action by 93.6pc over staff shortages, while a Unite spokesperson said its members have also backed action in the same dispute.

Over 2,000 nursing and midwifery posts were left unfilled in the public health system at the end of 2023, according to a statement from the INMO.

“INMO members have sent a clear message to the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health that nurses and midwives are no longer willing to accept pausing the hiring of much-needed safety critical staff in a weak attempt to balance the books," INMO President Caroline Gourley said.

“All autonomy has been stripped from directors of nursing and midwifery to recruit additional nurses and midwives, yet they are the ones who are expected to ensure a safe service".

“We cannot wait any longer, patients deserve a properly staffed health service that is not constantly dogged by crisis after crisis.”

All three unions have stated that recruitment restrictions and the suppression of posts in the Health Service Executive (HSE) are putting services under enormous strain and are putting patient safety at risk.

Their members have been engaging in a series of lunchtime protests to highlight the issue throughout October.

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INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that the INMO Executive Council would now consider the outcome of the ballot, and "will liaise with other health sector trade unions who have balloted their members to decide on a united approach" in the coming weeks.

“Our members are often the first point of contact many sick people have with the public health system," Ms Ní Sheaghdha stated.

"In turn, they have to bear the brunt of the public’s rightful frustration with the overcrowding crisis and long waiting lists that are exacerbated by short staffing.

"One of the first priorities of the next Government must be to solve the staffing issues that exist right across the public sector."

An agreement with health service management means that unions must give three weeks’ notice of industrial action, according to a Unite spokesperson.

"HSE management only has a short window to avert industrial action by rolling back the discredited 'Pay and Numbers Strategy’ and instead negotiate a safe staffing framework in the interests of workers and patients," said Unite regional officer Eoin Drummey.