Ambulance staff in the HSE are expected to press for increases in pay on foot of a new review to be carried out into their roles and responsibilities.
Siptu said on Wednesday it had reached agreement with the HSE and the National Ambulance Service on the new process, which comes under the terms of the current public service agreement.
The union said the new process would examine the roles, responsibilities, duties and skillset of ambulance personnel.
Its health division organiser Paul Bell said that it was the view of Siptu that its members in the ambulance sector had fallen behind in relation ot the recognition of their role.
“Siptu ambulance sector members also believe that their status is not reflective of their actual skill set and the major contribution they make in the delivery of frontline medical services especially when existing pay grades are taken into account.”
The union said an “ ambitious, legitimate and independent” process would begin in early January 2019. It said the review would cover the roles of advanced paramedic, paramedic and emergency medical technician in the National Ambulance Service.
The union said it intended that the process would conclude next June.
Siptu ambulance sector organiser Miriam Hamilton said the union's representatives were committed to working within the existing public service agreement "to bring about full pay restoration and progression for our members.
“However, should an agreed process confirm that our members are not on the correct pay scale for their role and contribution or where an employer seeks productivity outside the terms of the Public Service Stability Agreement then we will rightly seek pay or grade recalibration within the appropriate public sector pay scales.”
Irish Ambulance Representative Council chairmam Hillery Collins, said: "The key objective of this process is get into a space where ambulance professionals are finally recognised as professionals. A space where our members can be remunerated appropriately as professionals and that the development and education of ambulance professionals is prioritised so that we can be fully prepared for the challenges that lay ahead in the coming years as more and more health services are placed in the community."
