250,000 staff in Republic strike
A quarter of a million public sector workers in the Republic of Ireland are holding a one day nationwide strike.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Massive disruption is expected on Tuesday as Ireland's public services shut down in a national walk out over pay cuts.
Hospitals, schools, social welfare offices and local authorities will close during the one-day action over plans to slash 1.3 billion euro from the public sector wage bill.
Flood relief workers and emergency staff in Clare, Galway and Cork will continue working to deal with the worst flooding in living memory in parts of the west and south.
Union leaders also vowed that critical medical services, including intensive, elderly and maternity care as well as cancer services would not be affected.
But thousands of hospital appointments, planned admissions and surgery have been cancelled.
Accident and emergency services will be staffed by local strike committees who will judge the needs of patients on the day, according to Liam Doran of the Irish Nurses Organisation.
Congress - the umbrella organisation for trade unions - insisted a blueprint for an overhaul of the public sector handed to them on Friday night by the Government had come too late to halt the 24-hour stoppage.
"It came over two weeks after it was promised, and many months after the effective collapse of negotiations before the summer," said Peter McLoone, chairman of the Congress public services committee.
Although Mr McLoone said the document did not carry guarantees being sought by the unions, he signalled it could form the basis of renewed negotiations with the Government, starting as early as Wednesday.
It was unlikely that any second day of action would be organised while talks were ongoing, according to the union leader.
"Our sense is that given the gravity of the situation, that the likelihood is the unions will agree that the response we should make to the document is to re-engage in a negotiation," he said.
"We'll try and set that up as soon as we can. We think it will most likely be Wednesday at some stage."
Mr McLoone said an expected return to talks would be on an "intense basis" from Wednesday, running up to and over the weekend if needed.
While there was little hope for agreement on the transformation of the public sector over the coming days, there was room for hammering out how the overhaul would proceed, he signalled.
The industrial action is expected to wreak major disruption on health services, education, local authority services, government departments and the courts.
Semi-state companies including bus and rail services will not be affected.
Although the Garda is forbidden by law from striking, members have been advised by the Garda Representative Association they don't need to issue penalty point or fixed charge notices to motorists.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors called on members not to use any personal equipment like mobile phones or laptops, carry out overtime or any extra administrative duties during the day of action
About 55,000 benefits recipients - including those on maternity, illness, jobseekers and supplementary welfare - will have their payments delayed by one day because of the national strike.
The Defence Forces said it will have 32 personnel manning Leinster House, three ambulance crew at Navan and one crew at Drogheda.
© Press Association