SIPTU members have today (Thursday, 20th July) served notice of industrial action on the management of Lifford Community Hospital, Lifford, County Donegal, due to its refusal to adhere to a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement concerning work-life balance measures. SIPTU Sector Organiser, Martin O’Rourke, said: “This move follows a unanimous vote by SIPTU members at the hospital to take industrial action. Our members first sought agreement with management on these matters in 2013. Since then they have consistently tried to resolve the issue through written communications, meetings and latterly the involvement of the WRC. “Following an agreement with management at the WRC, we have engaged in correspondence with management seeking its full implementation.“In many other workplaces union members would have immediately balloted for strike action in order to force a resolution to this matter. However, our members are extremely committed to the people in their care and due to this have not yet served notice of strike action. It is hoped that the employer will even at this eleventh hour work with union representatives to resolve the matters in dispute.”He added: “Our members are rightly required to honour their contracts of employment and if they were to fail to do so they could face dismissal. An equal onus is on their employer to also honour agreements in full. While this dispute pertains to an agreement on work-life balance, SIPTU members in Lifford Community Hospital are also seeking the assistance of the WRC in relation to other issues including unpaid overtime, allowances, holiday premiums and non-implementation of minimum wage increases. “SIPTU members in Lifford Community Hospital will decide the timing and exact nature of their industrial action. It is expected that community protests will also take place to highlight the need for a resolution to this dispute.”
SIPTU members in Lifford Community Hospital serve notice of industrial action
