Around 270 workers at Caredoc are set to begin strike action which is likely to cause significant disruption to GP out-of-hours services in the south east of the country.
Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and SIPTU members employed at Caredoc plan to withdraw their labour as part of a series of planned strikes over a pay dispute across the Christmas period.
The 24-hour strike is due to begin at 8am and will see workers take to the picket line Caredoc locations at St Dympna's Hospital, Carlow; HSE Community Care, Waterford City; Wexford Primary Care Centre; Ayrfield Medical Centre, Kilkenny and The County Clinic, Clonmel.
The HSE has invited Caredoc back to mediation, which is scheduled to begin at 10am.
The INMO and SIPTU have said they are seeking the implementation of a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission pay agreement for Section 39 organisations, specifically an 8% increase due to their members working in Caredoc.
Section 39 organisations are privately-owned charities and agencies that are contracted by the State to provide healthcare services.
The unions have also said money paid by the HSE to Caredoc to fund a pay increase for staff has not been applied to members' salaries.
In a statement last night, a spokesperson for HSE Dublin and South East said the executive remains "concerned" about the planned industrial action.
"As is always the situation with planned industrial action the option to postpose strike action is available. The HSE would encourage Caredoc to engage with the trade unions to consider this option whilst mediation is in progress," they added.
There are also plans for further 24-hour strikes on 23 and 27 December, a 48-hour strike from 29 December and a 24-hour strike on 2 January.
The strike action is expected to have a significant impact on Caredoc's services with an estimated loss of up to 10,000 hours of clinical consultations.
However, Caredoc has yet to fully clarify the extent to which its services will be impacted by the industrial action.
There are 150 INMO members and 120 SIPTU members at Caredoc, including triage nurses, drivers for doctors and receptionists.
Caredoc provides GP out-of-hours services for patients with urgent medical problems in counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and south Tipperary.
Its community intervention teams also provide care in the home services in the southeast and in Co Wicklow.
Caredoc also provides GP out-of-hours services in south Wicklow, as well as in the northwest. However, it is understood that these services will not be directly affected by today's strike action.
INMO Industrial Relations Officer Gráinne Walsh said it is clear that Caredoc has "no solution or alternative plan" to avert the strike action.
She added: "Our members have no desire to withdraw their services in the middle of winter, but all other avenues have been exhausted."
Ms Walsh said the union is willing to meet with management and to consider an interim proposal that delivers the funds already provided, but said "Caredoc must demonstrate a genuine willingness to engage."
SIPTU Health Division Industrial Organiser Ger McNally said members have remained available to engage with management to find a resolution throughout this process, but "in the absence of any meaningful proposal from management we are left with no alternative but to engage in the proposed industrial action."
The HSE has said it and the Government have fully honoured their commitments; €647,000 was allocated to Caredoc in the south east and has already been paid over.
Caredoc has called on the INMO and SIPTU to suspend today’s strike action on "humanitarian grounds".
It said it remains committed to engaging with the HSE and "to arriving at a fair result that can hopefully restore pay parity between all its staff members and HSE equivalents, as was the case up to 2021."
"Caredoc will continue to make every effort to ensure the minimum possible impact on patients and their families, from the current dispute," a spokesperson said.
