Ray of light shines on HSE’s ‘light bulb’ dispute

THE Health Service Executive’s so-called light bulb dispute with craft workers in the south of the country appeared over last night after the workers’ union ordered its members back to work.

The dispute had initially been portrayed as revolving around workers’ refusal to let cheaper labour, such as general operatives, change light bulbs rather than pay expensive call-out charges for qualified electricians.

The workers’ union, the Technical Electrical and Engineering Union, said there was much more to the dispute than changing the bulbs and said the company was trying to change a number of workers’ conditions without consent.