Telephonists in eight Dublin hospitals are to begin a 24-hour strike from 8am tomorrow morning in a dispute over working hours and annual leave.
SIPTU has said the workers may escalate their action in the coming weeks if a settlement is not reached.
The hospitals affected by the action are St Ita's, Portrane; St Mary's, Phoenix Park; St Brendan's, Grangegorman; Cherry Orchard; Clonskeagh Hospital; St Colmcille's, Loughlinstown; St James's and the Coombe.
In a statement tonight, SIPTU said that during an intervention by the Labour Relations Commission, a basis for resolving the dispute was agreed in December 2001.
However, the union claimed, both the Health Service Employers Agency and the Dublin Area Health Boards arbitrarily rejected the proposals in their entirety in April this year.
