UNION REPRESENTATIVES FOR the National ambulance Service are to meet with the HSE for negotiations at the Labour Court after a strike was called off.

The Labour Court already held a meeting with unions representing workers in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) last Thursday, and a separate engagement with the HSE.

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians in trade unions Siptu and Unite had staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday last week amid a dispute over pay and conditions.

A further work stoppage had been planned for tomorrow but has been called off pending the direct talks between unions and the HSE at the Labour Court today. 

However, a work-to-rule action by ambulance workers continues.

Siptu ambulance sector organiser John McCamley has said members are “looking for a sign that the HSE are serious”.

The unions say the qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties of emergency medical technicians (EMT), paramedics, advanced paramedics, paramedic specialists and paramedic supervisors have expanded significantly in recent years.

They also say a 5% increase recommended under a previous process has not been delivered.

The unions want the HSE to drop preconditions around its pay proposal which critics have said would see a reduction in the number of trained paramedics in a crew and, because of changes to overtime, could see some pay decrease.

McCamley said there was an “easy solution” to the dispute, which would be implementing recommendations around pay from a previous independent report.

“Our members are of the view that over the last 15–20 years, they’ve delivered on modernisation and changes and that hasn’t been respected.”

With reporting from Press Association