In this issue
Win a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet
IMPACT warns on pay
Staff blast museum move
Library management bought to book
Unions rally on pay equity
Lourdes action over staff cuts
Lourdes action over staff cuts
by Niall Shanahan
 
Ray Ryan, Assistant General Secretary
Ray Ryan, Assistant General Secretary

Clerical and admin staff at Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda have overwhelmingly backed industrial action over staff cuts that have closed the hospital’s health promotion department. A massive 95% of staff voted to act in response to the hospital group’s decision to let several clerical officers go.

The staff were working on agency contracts, which IMPACT wants converted to permanent posts. Some of the workers were dismissed with just 24 hours’ notice. The rest either have no contract or have short-term contracts, many of which are due to expire shortly.

The union said a review by hospital management found that up to 47 clerical officers were needed to run the hospital. It has advised members not to cooperate with redeployment and not to carry out the work of dismissed colleagues.

IMPACT official Ray Ryan said: “We had no choice but to ballot our members for industrial action to protect staff whose jobs have become vulnerable and to convince management that all these posts are necessary and should be filled permanently.”

The industrial action will initially take the form of a work to rule, including a refusal to provide statistical information to management. Ray said the union remained available for talks, but that an escalation was likely if the issue remained unresolved.

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