Health workers stop cover over job cuts

John Downing, Political Editor

IMPACT, which represents 25,000 health workers, ordered its members not to provide cover for staff being laid off in any of the country's health boards.

At the same time 40 ward clerks at University Hospital in Galway voted to begin industrial action from next Monday and their union, SIPTU, vowed to intensify its own protest action.

Union leaders said they were concerned at a pattern of 800 job cuts in the health service nationwide, but the main focus of action remains the Western Health Board where 169 jobs are targeted and the ward clerks will begin by refusing to answer telephones before deciding on any further action later this week.

The clerks say they are determined to fight the health board's attempts to save 1m by laying off 169 clerical and administrative workers.

A spokesman for Health Minister Micheal Martin last night said the Government position had not changed over the past fortnight and they were involved in discussions with all the health boards on making savings without cutting any jobs. IMPACT general secretary Kevin Callinan said clerical, administrative and managerial staff would be told that from September 23 they were not to cover work normally done by the 800 staff in health boards across the country whose jobs have been axed. The decision followed a meeting of the union’s national executive in Dublin yesterday afternoon.

Mr Callinan denounced suggestions by Government that administrators were not central to providing a viable health service.

“In fact administrative staff deal directly with the public and provide vital support for front-line care staff,” he said adding that they also comprise just 15% of staff totals. The IMPACT leader also accused Government of foisting a fait accompli on health board managers and workers alike.

Other SIPTU members employed at the Galway hospital were due to meet last night to consider calls for more radical industrial action. The other union, IMPACT, was expected to meet Western Health Board executives today.

SIPTU Galway branch secretary Colm Keaveney said his members were reluctantly forced into industrial action: “Their aim is to highlight the growing seriousness of the situation and to protest at the health board's refusal to take part in the normal consultative process.”