SIPTU has alleged that the HSE has ordered some home helps not to come to work in a bid to cut home help hours.
Last week, the HSE announced that it was cutting the annual home help budget of €195m by €10.8m - a reduction of 5.5%.
As a result the number of home help hours available annually to help elderly and disabled people will fall from around 11 million to around 10.4 million hours.
SIPTU Health Division Organiser Paul Bell said that this week, the HSE had initiated plans to reduce home help hours - and in some cases, had instructed them not to attend for work.
He said that in June, the Labour Court recommended that SIPTU and the HSE should reach agreement before the end of July on providing adequate contracts, maintaining home help working hours and their security of earnings.
Howvever, Mr Bell accused the HSE management of intransigence and of failing to enter meaningful negotiations.
He has now sought an emergency Labour Court hearing on the issue, saying the cuts had resulted in an unacceptable reduction in the services provided to vulnerble citizens.
He said the HSE move was not only endangering clients' lives but was also in breach of the Croke Park Agreement, which he said prioritised the use of home helps directly employed by the HSE to provide vital services.
