Ambulance staff vote to strike

AMBULANCE paramedics have voted to go on strike – starting with what amounts to a gradual withdrawal of goodwill by refusing to use their own phones for work.

Members plan to stop using their private phones or SatNavs on duty.

Their planned action is over what they claim is the HSE’s refusal to facilitate payroll deductions of union subscriptions for new National Ambulance Service Representative Association (NASRA) members.

The organisation, which represents up to 600 members, says that around 100 new members have been affected by a decision not to deduct membership subscriptions at source from their wages. The organisation insists what they are looking for is standard workplace practice.

In a ballot conducted nationally over the past two weeks, NASRA members voted by nearly 98% in favour of industrial action which will start in two weeks, on Tuesday, July 24.

Peter Hughes, general secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA), of which NASRA is a union branch, said the ballot confirmed the level of anger and frustration by NASRA members at having a basic work right – to join the union of their choice – denied to them.

‘The message to the HSE from this outcome could not be clearer,’ he said.

‘NASRA members, as union branch members of the PNA, had been left with no other option than to take this action and protect their fundamental right of freedom of association.

‘The HSE have chosen to refuse to engage with us on the fundamental issue despite many request to do so. ‘There is still time to avert industrial action and I am calling on the HSE to immediately commence processing union deductions from payroll for new NASRA members as is the norm across the trade union sector.’

The HSE press office was unable to provide a response by 6.30pm last night.