Fórsa’s Municipal Employees division is balloting its members in Dublin fire brigade in a row over the implementation of an agreement on moving the ambulance control room out of Tara Street fire station.

An agreement reached with Dublin city council last May was subject to the HSE providing funding. Fórsa and Siptu members subsequently voted to accept the agreement on that basis.

But the unions accuse the HSE of dragging its heels over the funding, and they sought to refer the matter to the Labour Court at a Workplace Relations Commission hearing last month.

Management then said they would unilaterally alter a 2012 agreement covering the service, in breach of local and national agreements, including the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA). That provoked the industrial action ballot.

Fórsa and Siptu say management has refused to consider the concerns raised by the unions in respect of the proposals, which seriously undermines the integrity of the 2012 agreement, which was negotiated under the public service agreement.