Support staff at University Hospital Waterford to take industrial action next week

Support staff at University Hospital Waterford will take industrial action next week over a pay dispute with the Health Service Executive (HSE). 

According to Unite the Union, staff will take action due to what they say is "HSE failure to upgrade laundry workers and to recognise long service support staff". 

A statement from the union reads, "Unite accuses HSE of leaving hospital and union in the dark over regrading plans. 

"Trade union Unite, which represents support staff at the University Hospital Waterford (UHW), today (Thursday May 16) announced that over 100 members working in the laundry, catering and portering departments will be engaging in a work-to-rule from Monday May 27. 

"Members voted to take industrial action following the failure by the Health Services Executive (HSE) to include laundry staff in a regrading scheme, leaving them financially worse off."

It continues: "Laundry staff have historically been aligned with catering and portering staff. In addition to the failure to include laundry workers in the regrading scheme, some upgraded staff were awarded incremental credits when calculating their new pay rates. 

"However, the seemingly arbitrary exclusion of portering and catering workers from incremental credits means that long serving workers in these grades are required to work up their increments – again resulting in a financial loss for the workers concerned."

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said, "Support staff keep our hospitals running. These essential workers do some of the hardest jobs for the lowest wages in our health service, and it beggars belief that they have been sidelined in the HSE’s regrading scheme. 

"Unite always prioritises the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the workers at Waterford Hospital will receive Unite’s complete support."

According to the trade union, neither UHW nor Unite were consulted by the HSE regarding the parameters of the regrading scheme. 

Unite state they will be available to engage with UHW during the industrial action as required by the relevant disputes procedures. 

Unite regional officer, Eoin Drummey, added, "The HSE’s shambolic implementation of this deeply flawed regrading scheme means that laundry, portering and catering workers will suffer an unjust financial penalty – not just because of the failure to upgrade laundry workers, but because long-serving portering and catering workers are required to work up their increments. 

"This again means a financial loss for the workers concerned." 

The HSE has been contacted for comment.