Industrial action by all clerical admin and managerial Fórsa members in the HSE and Section 38 organisations is set to escalate from next Friday (27th October). The action is in response to the HSE’s unilateral imposition of a moratorium on recruitment and commenced on 6^th October last. Fórsa members have been engaged in a sustained action of non-cooperation since that date.

The union has now issued seven days’ notice of the escalation to the HSE. In a memo to members, Fórsa’s head of Health and Welfare, Ashley Connolly said that, in addition to the previous instruction members are instructed that from normal starting time on Friday 27th October 2023, until further notice, members should:

• Decline, unless normally rostered, to work over weekends and / or bank holidays
• Not use their work allocated mobile phone outside of their normal working hours unless it is for emergency purposes
• Not take direction or report to an agency worker from Grade V or above
• Not work outside their agreed contract working hours unless in receipt of agreed overtime rates (this does not include flexi time). 
• Not engage in communications with the CTTO and CISO Office
• Not cooperate with HealthIrl Computer Domain Migration Project and /or other reform projects.

Ashley added: “Fórsa members in the eastern region where IFMS (the national Integrated Financial Management and Procurement System) has been implemented should continue to carry out their roles and functions.

“However, these members have been instructed not to cooperate or engage in relation to the further rollout of the program, or any new functionality, beyond what has been implemented up to 19th October 2023. Members working across the IFMS have also been instructed not to cooperate with any external agency in relation to IFMS workload,” she said.

Ashley said further phased action will commence in the week of 13th November: “Members in various locations each day will be instructed not to answer telephones, work mobile phones and respond to emails for specific times throughout the day.”

Ashley advised that Fórsa will notify members of the exact locations and times closer to the date. From the 27^th November members in various locations will participate in organised rolling lunchtime protests on separate dates.

The escalated action is in addition to the action ongoing since 6^th October. Since that date members have been instructed:

• Not to undertake tasks, functions or responsibilities associated with any vacant post
• Not to carry out the duties of a higher grade and strictly adhere to the rules and procedures governing their post
• To boycott all engagement in relation to HSE Health Regions also known as Regional Health Areas (RHAs)
• Not to engage or attend any working groups, planning, restructuring, consultation, scoping, discussion meetings / forums in relation to all change programs underway across the HSE and / or Section 38s. (e.g., RHAs, HSPA, NiSRP)
• Not to engage or participate in any meetings in relation to the further roll out of the IFMS change program including the roll-out of implementation group 2, 3, 4 and 5
• Not to return national information / data returns e.g., KPIs, Accident & Emergency statistics, delayed discharges, monthly activities etc. (including non-engagement in online forums and / or teleconference in relation to same)
• Not to engage with Finance and HR Information processes (including non-engagement in online forums and / or teleconference in relation to same)
• Not to cooperate with regulatory bodies e.g., HIQA
• Withdrawal from all national committees
• Not to engage with, meet, report to, or provide any information to external private consultants or HSE advisors
• Not to participate or engage with performance achievement / management
• Not to engage with all political forums and / or processes (PQs etc)
• Not to engage with any proposals in relation to the extended working week

Ashley added: “The unilateral actions of the HSE has irrevocably broken all trust between the parties and demonstrates an unwarranted and unfair disdain for the national industrial relations process.”