There has been no interruption to ambulance services today despite around 500 personnel commencing an overtime ban from this morning, according to the HSE.
The staff, which are represented by the Psychiatric Nurses Association, are in dispute with the HSE over its refusal to deduct union subscriptions through the payroll system (as it does for other unions) and over representation rights.
The HSE insists that is not deducting and remitting subscriptions because the PNA and its ambulance branch NASRA do not have negotiating rights for the grades in question.
The HSE said that while it does not anticipate any interruption in service delivery today, it is continuing to monitor the situation very closely on an ongoing basis.
It also noted that there had been no interruption of service to date from the NASRA/PNA work-to-rule that has been continuing for some weeks.
The majority of the 1,800 staff in the ambulance service are represented by SIPTU.
However since 2010 around 500 have chosen to leave SIPTU and join a breakaway group called NASRA, which then affiliated to the PNA.
The personnel in dispute have already been working to rule for some weeks.
However, from today at 7am, the NASRA/PNA members (including paramedics, advanced paramedics and emergency medical technicians) are refusing to work additional shifts or overtime.
PNA General Secretary Peter Hughes has blamed the HSE for the dispute, accusing it of denying ambulance personnel the right to join the union of their choice, while also trying to force them to be part of a union that they did not want to be a part of.
The National Chairperson of the PNA/NASRA branch Sinead McGrath said the HSE should be aware that it was jeopardising the operation of the ambulance service which relies heavily on members to undertake additional shifts.
SIPTU has said that its 1,300 members are not in dispute and will be working as normal.
