Eastern hospitals to strike tomorrow

More than 200 hospital attendants are due to begin rolling industrial action in the east of the country tomorrow as part of a dispute over pay.

The staff, members of SIPTU, said the Health Service Employers Agency had agreed in 2000 to pay an 8% award to attendants in seven acute Dublin hospitals and to examine the possibility of extending the award to attendants in non-acute facilities.

SIPTU said the agreement has not been adhered to, despite the fact that the dispute has come before both the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court.

It said tomorrow’s industrial action will escalate on a rolling basis until the HSEA and the Department of Health enters into meaningful discussions.