Certain ambulance services around the country could face disruption tomorrow as around 500 ambulance personnel represented by the Psychiatric Nurses Association commence an overtime ban tomorrow in a dispute over union representation.
The majority of the 1,800 staff in the ambulance service are represented by SIPTU.
However since 2010 around 500 have chosen to leave SIPTU and join a breakaway group called NASRA, which then affiliated to the PNA.
The HSE does not recognise PNA for ambulance grades, and has refused to deduct NASRA/PNA union subscriptions through the payroll system, as it does for other unions.
The personnel in dispute have already been working to rule for some weeks.
However, from tomorrow at 7am, the NASRA/PNA members (including paramedics, advanced paramedics and emergency medical technicians) will refuse to work additional shifts or overtime.
PNA General Secretary Peter Hughes said the escalation was entirely of the HSE's making.
He accused the employer of denying ambulance personnel the right to join the union of their choice, while also trying to force them to be part of a union that they did not want to be a part of.
He said it was unacceptable that highly skilled and dedicated ambulance personnel were being forced to embark on an overtime ban due to what he called the intransigence of the HSE.
The National Chairperson of the PNA/NASRA branch, Sinead McGrath, said the HSE should be aware that it was jeopardising the operation of the ambulance service which relies heavily on members to undertake additional shifts.
The HSE said the National Ambulance Service is working towards ensuring continuity of service.
It said that while the HSE does not anticipate any interruption in service delivery tomorrow, they are continuing to monitor the situation very closely on an ongoing basis.
It said there had been no interruption of service to date from the PNA/NASRA work to rule that has been going on for some weeks.
