Members of Fórsa working on the St. Fintan’s campus of Portlaoise hospital have submitted a petition to hospital management following the closure of their staff canteen. 

Staff were given just two days notice when the canteen was closed two months ago and since then have found themselves with few feasible options available to them when it comes to meals during their work day.

Laois branch chair Henry Hennessy, who has worked in the hospital for over 30 years, described the impact this decision has had on the hundreds of staff who work on the campus every day. 

Henry said: “We’re forced to leave the campus and drive into town, or to the main hospital. It’s chaotic, there’s no parking, and by the time you get anywhere and sit down, your 30 minutes for lunch is gone. There’s 400-500 staff here but you can only get a cup of tea at best, it’s not right.”

In addition to hospital services there is a HSE training facility on the St. Fintan’s campus with HSE staff from around the country attending trainings onsite every week. 

Fórsa official Tony Martin said: “To date management have refused to engage with staff on the issue, and they wouldn’t even meet members to receive the petition this week. Hundreds of staff have signed this petition calling for management to engage with staff on this vital issue.”

Hospital management claim that the recruitment embargo has prevented them from replacing catering staff and that there is therefore no one to run a canteen. 

Henry explained: “During Covid-19 mobile dinners were provided, which members agreed to under the condition that after the pandemic things would revert to the status quo. Instead, now we’re worse off than ever before.  We need to find a solution to this so we’re calling on management to meet us as soon as possible.”

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