Hospital staff set to strike over wage cuts

UP to 800 nurses in the country’s largest private hospital network will consider strike action if management refuses to return a 5% pay cut “unilaterally” implemented at the start of the year.

Speaking after a national protest by nursing staff at the Bon Secours hospitals in Cork, Dublin, Tralee and Galway, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said the group may have to resort to the nuclear option if no breakthrough is made.

Between 1pm and 2pm yesterday, up to 800 nurses working in the private facilities participated in rotating 20-minute protests on the grounds of the hospitals. The union members, who were supported by past and present patients, allege management has failed to agree to a Labour Relations Commission (LRC) deal from February to restore a 5% pay cut implemented in January.