8,000 health sector workers preparing for national strike over pay

More than 8,000 workers in the health and social services sector are preparing for nationwide strikes next month over a failure to restore their pay in line with the public sector.

The workers, members of Siptu, are employed in Section 39 companies. Workers in those companies are not public servants, but their employers are grant aided by the HSE to provide services.

Traditionally their pay has been linked to rates within the public service, mainly in the HSE. Siptu represents 8,000 Section 39 workers, while Impact represents a further 5,000.