Ambulance drivers strike over union recognition
AMBULANCE personnel in Sligo attached to the National Ambulance Representative Service (NASRA) took part in a ten hour strike last Tuesday in a row over union recognition.
NASRA is a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Union (PNA) and they say that the HSE has not yet responded to invites from the Workplace Relations Commission to begin talks. GARY Currivan, NASRA representative told The Sligo Champion: “We’re striking today for the right to union recognition, negotiation and consultation. The HSE refuse to negotiate with us. They only negotiate with SIPTU.
“OUT of all the ambulance drivers, 500 staff are within this union. Anything that can be passed by SIPTU doesn’t get our grace. It’s split in the middle. The HSE are using SIPTU, for negotiating rights. They make all the decisions for us even though there’s a large chunk of the ambulance service who aren’t represented by SIPTU.”
While a strike was the last thing that they wanted to do, the NASRA members felt they had been left with no choice.
“We’ve received a lot of support. From the public, it’s been huge. These guys here aren’t even meant to be in today. Even the guys who are in SIPTU, they have managed to support us in other ways. The lads on call today have been really supportive. They haven’t crossed the picket. All calls are being covered as well.
“This is the third time that the union has pushed for strike. It’s the first time that it actually went ahead. It’s eight years that it’s going on and the HSE is still refusing to negotiate with the union. This is the last thing we want to be doing. We’re still responding to emergencies even though we’re on strike. It’s not an all out strike, there is plenty of cover.”