NURSING AND care staff at the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin are to vote on industrial action in a dispute with management over reforms being sought under the Croke Park agreement.
The trade union Siptu said yesterday that as part of the reforms, HSE management was seeking the elimination of paid meal breaks for staff. It said that under existing arrangements staff must remain on the premises for meal breaks and be available to deal with emergencies that may arise.
The union said it feared that if staff were allowed to go off-site for meals in future, there may not be sufficient personnel available to respond to any emergency situation and that this could have safety implications for staff and patients.
Siptu said management had given an ultimatum that the controversial reforms would be put in place from the middle of next month. It said the move to impose changes to staff conditions represented a breach of the terms of the Croke Park agreement.
Over 100 nursing and care staff at the Central Mental Hospital are to take part in the ballot, the result of which will be known on Friday.
Siptu Nursing Sector Organiser, Louise O'Reilly, said: "HSE management intends to make sweeping changes to staff terms and conditions to which they cannot agree because of serious health and safety concerns.
"It is our members' view that the new work rosters proposed by management will result in times when care units will be depleted of staff to such an extent that there will not be sufficient people to respond to an emergency."
"Management has not addressed the safety concerns raised by staff. Instead it has simply written to them stating that from 12th October the new rosters will be imposed. This move by management is in breach of the terms of the Croke Park agreement. Its refusal to engage in negotiations with our members has left them with no choice but to conduct a ballot for industrial action," she said.
Meanwhile it has emerged that over 1,200 employees of Connolly Hospital in west Dublin will be employed by a newly constituted Beaumont Hospital Board under new reform proposals.
The staff at Connolly Hospital are currently direct employees of the HSE.
