TALKS BETWEEN UNION representatives for the National Ambulance Service and the HSE over a pay and conditions dispute are set to resume today. 

The HSE entered into direct talks with Siptu and Unite at the Labour Court on Monday.

A planned paramedic strike for today has been called off as the two sides entered negotiations, after a 24-hour work stoppage last week.

The Labour Court held a meeting with unions representing workers in the National Ambulance Service on Thursday and a separate engagement with the HSE, and called them back for direct talks on Monday.

The unions say 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 pre-conditions around its previous 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.

With reporting from Press Association