Fórsa has informed the HSE that it plans to escalate the campaign of industrial action in response to the ongoing health recruitment embargo, with the commencement of rolling phone and email bans from 11th January next.

Following on from last week’s #endthefreeze lunchtime protests, Fórsa’s Health and Welfare divisional dispute committee considered all the options available to escalate the current ongoing action, acknowledging that it would be difficult to do so prior to the Christmas period.

In a memo to members, the union’s head of Health and Welfare Ashley Connolly explained: “The dispute committee has therefore taken the decision that members in different locations, on different days, should not answer their work-phone (including work mobile phones), or work emails for a specific period of time each day.”

Ashley said that members in every hospital, primary care centre, HSE corporate and all other areas across the HSE and Section 38s (voluntary hospitals and voluntary organisations) are instructed, as part of the ongoing industrial action, to participate in the rolling bans, which will take place between 11th and 26th January.

She added: “Management has been informed that Fórsa remains available to find a resolution. The role of clerical admin and managerial teams remains an integral part in the delivery of healthcare and we cannot stand by and allow these vital roles to be suppressed because of budget overruns.

“We require a commitment that any post that becomes vacant is filled - a “one out/one in” approach - which would allow us to engage on all other issues relating to recruitment, the use of agency into promotional posts and the extensive overuse of external private contractors and consultants,” she said.

Ashley said members have expressed their frustration at the continued failure of the HSE to adopt an approach allowing for the replacement of any staff that leaves their post: “Our members are not to blame for the HSE overspend and should not be held accountable for budget overruns in other areas.”

The action will involve all Fórsa clerical administrative and managerial members with the following exceptions:

• Acute Hospitals Main Switchboards
• Accident and Emergency Departments including all direct line emergency numbers normally available to the public
• ICU / HDU Wards (Including Special Care Neo Natal / Foetal Assessment Unit
• Coronary Care
• Theatres
• Palliative Care
• Oncology Units
• Transplant Units
• Acute Admission Units - Mental Health

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