Health service management is to write to the State's 2,200 public hospital consultants to ask them individually if they are taking part in the current industrial action over Government plans to reform their contract.
Doctors who acknowledge that they are members of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) and say that they are taking part in the current industrial action will not be paid a 2 per cent increase scheduled to come into effect from today.
The Department of Health decided last week that it would not sanction the 2 per cent increase, due under the terms of the Towards 2016 national agreement, for members of the association in view of the current industrial action.
However, the problem for health service management on the ground is that it has no way of knowing which of its 2,200 consultants are members of the IHCA.
About 1,800 consultants are believed to be members of the association. However 700-800 consultants are members of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which is not taking part in the industrial action.
Some doctors are members of both organisations and others are members of none.
A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive (HSE) said yesterday that it would be writing to all consultants in the days ahead to ask them if they were members of the IHCA and if they were participating in the industrial actions.
The association has said that the decision to withhold the pay increase due this week could see consultants lose out on about €55 a week.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association has criticised the department's decision and has said it will appeal the move.
The Government has been at odds with hospital consultants for some time over plans to introduce a new contract.
Following inconclusive negotiations over recent months, Minister for Health Mary Harney in April authorised the Health Service Executive to advertise for 68 new consultant posts on revised terms and conditions, without the agreement of the medical organisations.
Hospital consultants were extremely angry at this move and the consultants association began a campaign of industrial action last month.
The association's consultants are refusing to participate in hospital and national committees and are boycotting some administrative duties.
The IMO is not participating in the current industrial action but has advised members not to take on any duties normally undertaken by IHCA colleagues.
