Nurses 'struggling to survive' picket at hospitals across country in dispute over public sector pay

Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation during lunchtime protest outside the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Picture: Leah Farrell/ RollingNews.ie

Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation held lunchtime protests outside hospitals countrywide over the public sector pay deal dispute.

Hospital staff are protesting over cost-of-living measures and the impact it is having on staffing and patients.

Thursday’s protests were planned ahead of work-stoppages that will begin in the public health service on October 14, when more than 100,000 public sector workers are set to strike.

The INMO protests were held at Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Limerick, St Vincent’s University Hospital, The Mater, Our Lady of Lourdes Drogheda, Letterkenny University Hospital, Galway University Hospital, Naas General Hospital and Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar.

Karen Clarke, industrial relations officer for the INMO, said they were protesting over three issues.

“First, staffing in the hospital, and the working environment,” she said. “Our members are working in very pressurised environments, where they are working with less staff and taking on additional roles and taking on additional shifts because there are deficiencies in their workplace.

“There is also the home life and the cost-of-living is a big aspect of this."

She said the cost of living had increased, including the cost of food, gas, oil, childcare and rent.

“They are struggling to survive," she said. "We want to send a message to the Government, asking them to meet with us and recognise what is happening on the ground with public sector workers.” 

She also said she was “disappointed” by the budget, saying it was not one for workers.

The protest was raised in the Dáil by Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty.

He accused the Government of dismissing the group’s concerns.

“As we speak, nurses are leaving the wards and going on strike on the picket line,” Mr Doherty said.

“That is happening under the Government’s watch. Nurses do not want to leave the wards. They want to care for their patients.

“Right across the public sector next week, we will see teachers, staff within this House and all our public sector workers striking because the Government has failed to deliver a meaningful pay deal.

“It is not lost on any of them, whether they are a nurse, teacher, special needs assistant, SNA, or any other public sector worker, that they will once again have to take to the picket line and demand that the Government takes action."

He said it was also not lost on them that the people at the very top were never seen on the picket line. 

Enterprise minister Peter Burke said he did not want to see negotiations through ultimatums.

“I want to see a negotiation around the table where decisions are made and where you can get sustainable progress for members throughout the country,” he said.

“We know at a time when we face significant challenges in the cost of living, the lowest paid civil servants in our economy have seen a 36% pay increase over the past five years.

“That is running significantly ahead of inflation and protecting the most vulnerable in our economy.

“That is the point from which the Government wants to come. We want to deliver fair pay at a sustainable price to our country and to deliver better and more efficient public services.

“As numbers rise and our population comes to a significant increase over the next decade — one million people will reach the age of 65 by 2030 — we are clear that we need public services that are invested in and deliver, and that those who work in them are valued and paid a fair price.

“That is exactly what this Government wants.”