National strike about 'more than just money' says Leitrim ambulance workers
Around 2,000 SIPTU members of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) are on strike until Wednesday at 8 am
Ambulance workers in Leitrim joined the national strike action for better working conditions and pay.
The strike follows the failure of unions and the Government to make a deal for staff who have gradually taken on more responsibilities in recent years.
If the dispute is not resolved, escalating strikes are to follow with 48-hour and 72-hour actions planned in the coming weeks if HSE management and SIPTU fail to come to an agreement.
The support from the public has been uplifting, according to Graham McDermott, who is among the Ambulance staff, picketing outside of Carrick on Shannon Ambulance base.
“The mood is good, it's probably good to see, it's a while since I've seen staff in good humour,” said McDermott.
McDermot has been working in the ambulance service around Carrick on Shannon for the last eight years and says the job has become incredibly intense.
“Our shifts are relentless. You go in in the morning in Carrick on Shannon, you're gone in the first half hour of your shift and you're not back until all hours … You could have spent your 12-hour working day, it could be up to 15 hours or a 16-hour working day.”
McDermott stresses that it is “more than just money,” that there also needs to be more staff hired to shoulder the pressure of Ireland's growing population.
Along with that, better working conditions are provided to staff, who barely get to speak to each other throughout the day due to the volume of calls.
“People weren't meeting each other in bases, they weren't getting to chat, there was no morale between staff because you weren't having talk, there wasn't banter. The only place you met was in hospitals waiting for handovers,” siad McDermott.
Even in the midst of the protest, crews from Carrick on Shannon have had to go out to respond to critical situations in the region.
Unions have accused the HSE of failure to implement the recommendations of an independent report on updating ambulance workers’ pay scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workloads over the last 20 years.
“Our qualifications has gone from being the ambulance driver years ago who would carry a nurse in the back of it, and transport them to an ED, to making clinical decisions out of the road.”
The HSE “regrets” the disruptions and acknowledges the need to “both increase and modernise pay arrangements.” Though it stresses that it is “committed,” it claims that reforms are being carried out on the HSE and NAS, and that is causing delays.