A 48-hour strike by ambulance staff is set to go ahead on 19 May, as the dispute between unions and the HSE escalates further following a 24-hour stoppage that ended this morning.
Members of SIPTU and Unite working in the National Ambulance Service will take part in the latest industrial action, which comes after pickets were mounted at ambulance bases across the country during yesterday’s strike.
The HSE said the previous 24-hour action had a “significant impact” on emergency services, with response times longer than usual. It also confirmed it has been monitoring the situation closely as the full effect of the disruption continues to be assessed.
Despite the pickets, striking staff maintained that they continued to respond to life-threatening emergencies during the stoppage.
The dispute centres on pay and working conditions for a wide range of frontline roles, including paramedics, advanced paramedics, emergency medical technicians, specialist paramedics and supervisors.
Unions say the industrial action follows the HSE’s failure to implement recommendations from an independent review into updated salary scales, which they argue should reflect increased responsibilities and workload across the service.
However, the HSE has rejected claims of inaction, stating that previous proposals to resolve the dispute — which included pay increases — were turned down by union members.
It also said those proposals contained conditions linked to changes in allowances, which unions have described as unacceptable.
Alongside the planned 48-hour stoppage, unions have warned of further escalation, including a 72-hour strike on 26 May and additional action scheduled for June if no resolution is reached.
A work-to-rule introduced earlier this week remains in place, adding further pressure on ambulance operations nationwide.
The HSE has urged both sides to return to negotiations and suspend industrial action, while unions have said they are willing to re-enter talks — but only if they take place without preconditions.
