Nurses and Midwives are set to protest at hospitals nationwide over pay.
Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation will hold a lunchtime protest today at hospitals across the country over delays in agreeing a new public sector pay deal.
As quoted by RTE, the union said in a statement: "INMO members will be protesting over cost-of-living measures and the impact it is having on staffing in work locations."
Public sector employees have been conducting a work-to-rule action since last week over delayed wage negotiations.
Unions claim the Government has offered no clear commitments on pay following the expiry of the previous deal in June.
In response, Ministers earmarked €1.2 billion in Tuesday’s Budget toward a new pay agreement.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said in his Budget speech that the "significant provision" highlighted the seriousness of the Government in its wishes to reach a new agreement.
"I would now call on ICTU and other associations to match this intent by re-engaging as a matter of urgency and standing down the ongoing industrial action," Chambers said.
Unions have since stated that the €1.2 billion would not suffice in order to resolve the current pay dispute.
In a statement from the Public Services Committee of Irish Congress of Trade Unions, they said: "The Government has demonstrated fiscal capacity elsewhere in the Budget but has apparently not allocated enough to resolve a pay dispute that is now escalating."
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha has condemned remarks by Taoiseach Micheál Martin regarding public sector industrial action, describing suggestions that workers are striking "for the fun of it" as glib and inflammatory.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she emphasized that union members voted overwhelmingly for action due to dissatisfaction over pay and the cost-of-living crisis. She also confirmed that outpatient and day services will experience closures and postponements as a result.
