LAST UPDATE | 5 hrs ago

WORKERS AT THE National Ambulance Service who are members of trade unions Unite and Siptu will begin work-to-rule industrial action on Monday.

On Tuesday, these members will undergo 24-hours of strike action.

There are approximately 2,000 members involved in this dispute. Unite declined to comment on the number participating in the actions.

It involves Unite and Siptu members working in the NAS as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, advanced paramedics, paramedic specialists and paramedic supervisors.

The industrial action and further strike action was agreed upon by the union members after a ballot last month.

This is in response to the National Ambulance Service’s (NAS) management’s “ongoing failure” to implement recommendations from a 2020 review.

Among recommendations were enhanced pay scales to “reflect the growing professionalisation of the service”, and a 5% increase under the Benchmarking II process.

HSE response

The HSE said it has a contingency plan in place to deal with disruption that will arise as a result of the rolling actions.

“During the rolling industrial actions, the capacity of the NAS to respond will be significantly impacted. All other health services are operating as normal, and if there is any change to your planned care you will be contacted,” a spokesperson for the HSE said.

During this period of industrial action, any member of the public should contact 999 or 112 if someone is experiencing a life-threatening illness or injury, it said.

“The 999-phone service is fully operational and under the HSE’s contingency plan, priority will be given to patients facing emergencies such as cardiac or respiratory arrest, and those experiencing serious trauma such as that arising from road traffic accidents”, the spokesperson continued.

The health service said it regrets the decision taken by the unions to pursue such rolling actions. It said it has been engaging with the members of the two trade unions to resolve the dispute through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Labour Court.

In 2025, the HSE and the government agreed to implement the recommendations of both the WRC and Labour Court, it said, but these were rejected by the union members.

“These proposals included 3–14% pay improvements, on top of 9.25% under the PSA, linked to agreed reforms,” the HSE said.

It further said the HSE and the government “accepts the need to both increase and modernise pay arrangements for our staff” working in the NAS, “but is also obliged to ensure that in exchange for significant increases in pay, our services can continue to transform to meet the needs of the public”.

Union support

Unite general secretary Sharon Gaham said: “It is scandalous that these frontline workers have been waiting for six years for their skills and expertise to be recognised.”

She said the union fully supports the members’ “fight for decent pay and respect”.

Regional officer Eoin Drummey said resolution of the dispute is in the hands of management. 

“If the HSE wants to avoid the inevitable disruption to ambulance services, they must commit to immediate and unconditional implementation of the recommendations of the 2020 review.”