Nurses vote to take industrial action

NURSES AT Sligo General Hospital have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in a dispute over bed closures and non-renewal of contracts.

More than 96 per cent of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation’s 550-strong membership at the hospital voted in favour of the action and a meeting is to be held on Monday to formulate plans for a withdrawal of labour “sooner rather than later”.

An initial one-day stoppage is due to take place after strike notice expires on May 19th.

The INO’s industrial relations officer in the northwest, Noel Treanor, said the vote was indicative of the anger and frustration felt by members. He said 19 nurses on temporary contracts were being let go, with another 15 expected to lose their jobs because of the proposed closure of a medical ward in the hospital.

Mr Treanor said the union would be urging management to re-engage staff who had already been let go, some with only a week’s notice.

The union had already indicated that it was available for talks  and he called on the HSE to rescind some of the decisions already made “before things get too bitter”.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said yesterday it had not been informed of the result of the ballot yet and so had no comment to make. Sligo-based INO official Ann McGowan said lack of maternity and sick leave cover meant staffing levels were dangerously low on some wards.

“There is a feeling around the country that people have had enough. They are happy to walk out because standards cannot be compromised,” she said. “We have to protect standards because nobody else is.”

According to the INO, 14 nurses at the hospital will have been let go by the end of this week.

The union said some people whose contracts were not due to expire for several months had been given just a week’s notice. “These are people who spent four years doing degree courses and some of them are already on the dole,” said Ms McGowan. The HSE recently confirmed that 16 beds are to be closed as the hospital reviews all elements of expenditure “in light of a significant financial deficit”.

According to the INO this will bring to 40 the number of bed closures in a few months given the recent closure of an orthopaedic ward.

The HSE  insisted that, contrary to reports,  the stroke unit was not being shut down but was being moved to a different part of the hospital.

The INO accused management of “playing with words” and said the unit was being amalgamated with another ward, which meant services would be reduced and staff let go.