The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has launched a campaign of action to try to reverse pay cuts to working fourth year student nurses and midwives.
Around 6,000 student nurses and midwives are to hold protests at 13 hospitals around the country on 9 February in opposition to the cuts.
The INMO, the Psychiatric Nurses Organisation and SIPTU nurses are to ballot fourth-year student nurses in support of industrial action, which would take place in early March.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran said the Government was attempting to introduce slave labour.
Mr Doran said the campaign of action would include lunchtime protests, sit-ins, a protest rally to the Department of Health and a possible withdrawal of labour.
Up to now, students were paid 80% of a staff nurse salary, during their nine-month placement on hospital wards, which forms part of their four-year degree programme.
The Government has decided to phase out the payment over the next four years and abolish it in 2015.
This year the move will affect around 1,600 nurses and midwives.
The INMO said the students work full 12-hour shifts, replace staff nurses and midwives and are an integral part of the workforce.
The Department of Health and Children has defended the decision to reduce and phase out the payments.
It said the measure was necessary given the scale of the budget deficit and the relatively favourable manner, compared with other countries, in which Ireland has treated student nurses as paid employees for part of their education programme.
The department issued revised figures on the savings that will be achieved from phasing out pay for fourth year student nurses and midwives, who work on a 36-week placement in hospital.
It said the first savings will be seen in 2012 with a saving of around €8.1m.
When the payments are abolished in 2015 the full-year saving is expected to be €32.5m.
The issue has already been referred to the Labour Relations Commission.
