Public services in Offaly to grind to a halt as strike looms

Public services in Offaly are set to grind to a halt next Tuesday, November 24, as teachers, nurses, health care workers, civil servants, firefighters and binmen are staging a one day strike as part of one of Ireland's biggest one-day nationwide strikes. Public sector unions will bring the country to a standstill in protest at the Government's plans to slash their wages bill by €1.3 billion. Public sector workers in Offaly County Council, Tullamore Town Council, Birr Town Council, the public libraries and workers in Derryclure landfill will all be taking to the picket line next Tuesday. Healthcare services are also going to face the brunt of the strike. Staff from Tullamore Hospital and other HSE health centres such as Ofalia House, Riada House and Birr Community Nursing Home, are also taking industrial action as part of the mass protest. "Emergency cover in the council and the hospital will be provided by staff. That was agreed to by all unions," said a SIPTU spokesperson to the Offaly Independent yesterday (Thursday). However, according to the HSE, the level of service to be provided on Tuesday will be at levels similar to Christmas day and that no general exemptions in respect of any group or grade of staff, or any specific speciality are forthcoming. The Department of Finance in Tullamore and the three Social Welfare offices in Tullamore, Birr and Edenderry will also be closed. The fire brigade service will operate on an emergency-only basis throughout the county. Employees of the Offaly VEC, the Office of Public Works and Waterways Ireland will also be downing tools for the day, while all teachers, both primary and secondary school, will also be on strike. IMPACT, the Irish Nurses Organisation, SIPTU, Psychiatric Nurses Association and the Craft Unions have indicated that they will be fully participating in the industrial action. "The Government has forced us into a strike nobody wants because they won't negotiate a fair alternative to their plan for a second huge pay cut in less than a year," said Denis Rohan, Assistant General Secretary with IMPACT, based in Tullamore. "Last March, every single public servant suffered a pay cut of around 7% - on top of all the new levies and taxes that hit us all. Now the Government seems dead set on doing the same thing again, hitting family incomes, public services, and your local economy." The HSE has so far not provided information on arrangements for November 24, as discussions were continuing this week between the HSE and health sector unions on contingency plans for the strike. During talks last week, the HSE expressed its serious disquiet that a critical essential service such as health was being targeted at this time and outlined its concerns at the impact of such action on vulnerable patients and clients. The HSE asked that services in critical areas would be maintained, including intensive care, cancer services, dialysis, theatres, maternity, burns units, acute mental health facilities, drug treatment, sexual assault units as well as the Mass Vaccination Clinics established to deal with the H1N1 Swine Flu crisis. According to the HSE the unions replied that the level of service to be provided on November 24 would, at most, be at levels obtaining on Christmas day and that no general exemptions in respect of any group or grade of staff, or any specific speciality would be forthcoming. Management responded by advising that this position was totally unsatisfactory and would pose serious risks for patient care and safety on the day. The all-out strike comes after the ICTU day of action on November 6 and a protest by members of the Frontline Alliance on November 11. There was a clear majority of all kinds of public sector workers in favour of the action. According to SIPTU figures, 90.5% of those in the health service voted for industrial action, 89% in the Local Authority Service, 96.3% in the Fire Brigade, 82.5% in Government Departments, 88% in Teagasc, 82.4% in the Central and Regional Fisheries Board and 91.4% in Waterways Ireland. The Irish Medical Organisation, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association and the Irish Dental Association have said that their members would be working as normal.