Around 270 workers at Caredoc have gone on strike as part of industrial action that is likely to cause significant disruption to GP out-of-hours services in the southeast of the country.
Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and SIPTU employed at Caredoc have withdrawn their labour over a pay dispute.
This is the first in a series of planned strikes to take place over the Christmas period by workers at Caredoc, including triage nurses, receptionists and drivers for doctors.
Caredoc has confirmed that its service will face disruptions this evening.
Caredoc's out-of-hours GP service and treatment centres will not operate between 6pm today and 9am tomorrow.
The affected areas are Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, south Tipperary and south Wicklow.
Caredoc has advised that if a person has an urgent medical need during this time, they should attend their local hospital emergency department, or else contact their own GP surgery for further advice.
In the event of an emergency, a person is advised to call the ambulance service via 999.
Caredoc has said its out-of-hours GP service will resume as normal at 6pm tomorrow.
Patients are advised to check its website for regular updates while Caredoc has also apologised for any inconvenience and disruption caused by the industrial action, which it has said is outside of its control.
However, mediation is underway between the Health Service Executive and Caredoc in Dublin and it remains to be seen if a last-minute resolution can be reached.
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.
There are 150 INMO members and 120 SIPTU members at Caredoc, including triage nurses, drivers for doctors and receptionists.
The strike will see workers take to the picket line at 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 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.
Caredoc has said that further service interruptions are likely over the Christmas period, specifically Tuesday 23 December, Saturday 27 December, Monday 29 December, Tuesday 30 December and Friday 2 January.
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 southeast 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.
