Strike at hospital comes to an end

February 1998

Unofficial strike action by non-nursing staff at St Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown resulted in pickets being placed on the premises for three days last week.

But the dispute action by domestic, cleaning staff and porters at the hospital was resolved with a return to work by those involved in the protest, on Thursday last.

The strike protests began last Tuesday, when staff walked out after cleaning contractors had been brought in to carry out work on the hospital premises on the previous night.

A spokesperson for the Eastern Health Board said that non-nursing personnel at the hospital mounted an unofficial strike at St Columcille’s as a result of this move, and that the protest continued up until a return to work on Thursday.

The EHB spokesperson said that management put in place arrangements to make sure that services continued to be delivered, and stated that patient services had not been effected by the action.