Cleaning staff at Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway are embarking on industrial action today, in a dispute over the hiring of private contractors.
The staff members, who are members of the SIPTU trade union, say hospital management is in clear breach of established agreements and is showing a total disregard for their objections.
The union says it is staging today's two-hour work stoppage in protest at the decision to extend a contract cleaning arrangement to the hospital's emergency department.
While there is a mix of staff and contract cleaners at the hospital, SIPTU says its members have always been rostered to cover clinical areas.
They contend that three additional staff positions were sanctioned last year but that there was no effort to hire personnel.
The union says it served three weeks’ notice of its intention to stage a work stoppage and that it will escalate its action if necessary.
A total of 24 staff members are expected to take part in today's action.
The Saolta Hospital Group, which oversees the management of Portiuncula, says every effort will be made to minimise disruption to patient services.
Both sides have sought the intervention of the Workplace Relations Commission for conciliation talks. No date has been set for those discussions.
