Talks to resolve the dispute at Tullamore General Hospital will take place this afternoon at the Labour Relations Commission in Dublin.
Severe disruption was yesterday caused to the midlands hospital. Non-nursing staff, members of SIPTU, placed pickets on the 250-bed hospital from 8 a.m.
The dispute concerns the future of 19 staff transferred into the general hospital following the sale of one of the Midland's Health Board's nursing homes last year.
While other staff passed the pickets yesterday, there was severe disruption to the running of the hospital, where 187 patients were being treated.
Some 23 scheduled operations were cancelled and a further 22 are under threat today. While the union has agreed to attend the LRC session, it will maintain pickets on the hospital on the Kilbeggan Road.
Managerial staff cooked meals for patients and worked the heating system. They also did cleaning duties.
Over the day, 29 patients were discharged, with three admitted.
Mr Seamus Buggle, branch secretary of the SIPTU Offaly branch, said it had agreed to provide emergency cover at the hospital. Staff had been sent from the picket line to cover some duties yesterday.
A health board spokeswoman confirmed that eight emergency cases were dealt with in the hospital yesterday. SIPTU had supplied skeleton staff for the procedures.
"The patients were fed and they are warm but we do not know what will happen if the strike continues. There could be difficulties facing into the weekend," she said.
The Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, in whose constituency the hospital is located, described the strike as "regrettable" and welcomed the intervention of the LRC.
Last night, a Labour senator, Mr Pat Gallagher, urged the Minister to intervene in the dispute because it was causing hardship for hundreds of people.
He said the hospital provides orthopaedic and ENT services for the entire midlands area and had long waiting lists.
Pickets will be placed on the hospital again from 8 a.m. today.
Yesterday, rain-drenched picketers said they were determined to continue their dispute until the health board recognised that it had broken an agreement.