Dear members,
In November you voted for industrial action. You came together to say enough is enough, we can’t provide the services we want to and the services that patients deserve because of the severe staffing crisis caused by the HSE’s Pay and Numbers strategy.
Yesterday your divisional executive committee met and agreed that Fórsa will serve notice on your employer next Monday, 10th March 2025. We are required to give three weeks’ notice of the commencement of any industrial action.
The exact details of the planned action will issue to members on Monday, therefore it is important that you review emails from Fórsa regularly and in full.
Since you voted for industrial action, up to and including strike action, we have been working to plan how we can be most effective. Working with the INMO we have created Joint Organising Committees (JOC) for each health region. Last Thursday, 27th February, these committees met for the first time, appointed chairs and secretaries, and began to develop localised strategies for industrial action.
This is a new approach and one that we believe will have a significant impact in the weeks ahead. Crucially it will provide us with the localised information on vacant posts and staff shortages that the HSE have refused to provide.
Our colleagues in the other unions have met also this week and we are completely aligned on this.
The HSE have consistently refused to engage with us on the Pay and Numbers strategy. It’s time to show them what happens when our members stop covering up the cracks in the HSE’s staffing strategy.
The people working in the health service aren’t just numbers. Without you there is no health service. You are advocating for the resources that are desperately needed to provide the services people desperately need.
If you have any queries, please contact your branch executive in the first instance. Further updates will issue on Monday.
Yours in solidarity,
Ashley Connolly Linda Kelly
Head of Division National Secretary
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