Ambulance workers withdraw labour

AMBULANCE workers in Kilkenny abandoned their fleets yesterday morning (responding to 999 calls only) in protest over changes in their working terms which they say were enforced by their health board.

The unofficial action by 17 SIPTU members which began at 7am yesterday was spurred by the manner in which the South Eastern Health Board decided it was to privatise runs to Dublin with non-emergency patients from the region.

Ambulance crews in the region had brought patients to the capital for non-emergency services such as specialist X-rays and tests. These ambulance runs have now ceased.

SIPTU’S Bill Mulcahy said the action by the emergency medical technicians was something nobody wanted to engage in. As a result of the dispute, none of the 17 SIPTU members were involved in non-emergency patient transfers yesterday. Such transfers would involve bringing patients from one hospital to another for x-rays or other non-urgent medical examinations.

“On Tuesday last, our members were advised of substantial changes to their terms of employment. We sought a meeting with the health board. We had a brief meeting on Friday morning and they told us that under no circumstance would they negotiate with SIPTU on this change. Our members found they had no other course of action in an effort to bring the health board back to the negotiating table. For some reason, known only to the health board, they simply don’t want to talk to us.”

The union says the privatisation of the Dublin runs is not the issue: “The health board wants to change this, as well as knock-on conditions for our members, without negotiation. This is a first in the health board region. We can’t understand why they have chosen not to negotiate. Normally these types of change would be discussed over weeks or months. We didn’t want to spend that long pondering over the change. We just wanted talks and for this change in the service to be deferred for a week or two. The health board wouldn’t even defer it a day.”

The South Eastern Health Board said it was disappointed and concerned that the emergency medical technicians represented by SIPTU have taken the unofficial industrial action.

“The health board is requesting that the unofficial action be withdrawn and that nationally agreed industrial relations procedures be used. Emergency cover is being provided and 999 calls will be responded to,” the board said.