HSE says industrial action by ambulance staff could endanger service

The HSE has said that industrial action by some ambulance personnel was putting “the National Ambulance Service in a potentially precarious position”.

Staff in the National Ambulance Service, who are members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA), commenced industrial action on Wednesday in a dispute with the HSE over representation rights and the deduction of union subscriptions from pay.

The staff engaging in the industrial action are members of the union's National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) branch. The union said the branch had about 500 members.

In a statement on Wednesday the HSE said: “This PNA/Nasra industrial action puts the National Ambulance Service in a potentially precarious position, as PNA/Nasra are not a recognised union nor part of the national joint council of public service unions, whereby HSE and (the) National Ambulance Service can only engage with the recognised unions with negotiation rights. The National Ambulance Service have put in place contingency plans to mitigate the risk of potential disruption to service.”

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Stood down

The PNA said that as part of the initial phase of industrial action, vehicles that did not comply with daily inspections would be stood down at the location and not moved to any other location. All vehicles not in compliance with health and safety legislation and HSE ambulance drugs policy would also be stood down.

In addition, it said that staff would refrain from using their personal equipment and technology for work purposes unless they were in receipt of an allowance for same. They would also only start work at official roster time.

PNA general secretary Peter Hughes said earlier this week that the growing numbers of ambulance service personnel – including paramedics, advanced paramedics and emergency medical technicians – "who wished to join Nasra and exercise their fundamental right to organise and join the union of their choice were not prepared to have such basic trade-union rights dictated to them by the HSE".