Nurses pledge support for public health doctors

THE country’s largest nursing union yesterday passed an emergency motion pledging support for the striking public health doctors.

The move is significant as the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO), with 29,000 members, is the first union to publicly back the doctors. INO industrial relations chief David Hughes said the motion was a “favourable gesture” that could ultimately lead to the organisation joining the strike.

All of the unions representing workers in the medical area will meet under the auspices of ICTU next Friday to discuss the strike by the doctors. An ICTU spokesperson said it would be up to individual unions to ballot their members on whether they should go out on strike in support of the doctors.