Cardiac specialists pause planned strike action

Planned strike action by perfusionists, who are members of the Fórsa trade union, has been paused following engagement with the HSE on the implementation of a Labour Court recommendation.

Perfusionists are cardiovascular specialists who manage the machines that temporarily take over the work of the heart and lungs during surgery.

Fórsa has accused the HSE of taking a unilateral decision to break a long-standing pay link between perfusionists and medical scientists, and of refusing to implement a Labour Court recommendation to restore the link.

The action would have seen 25 perfusionists across five hospitals engage in work stoppages tomorrow, on Friday and on Monday, 6 July, which would have resulted in the cancellation of heart surgeries.

Those planned strikes have now been stood down to allow for further engagement.

However, Fórsa has warned that if there is not a satisfactory outcome work stoppages will be held on Tuesday, 7 July and Wednesday, 8 July.

According to the union, the HSE has proposed that the implementation of the Labour Court's recommendation be addressed through the local bargaining provisions of the current public service pay agreement.

Fórsa said however that it believes the limited scope of local bargaining is insufficient to give full effect to the recommendation.

It has agreed to pause the industrial action to allow for engagement on how the recommendation can be implemented in a manner that is consistent with its terms and intent.

"This is a matter of implementation, not negotiation," said Fórsa official Ryan McKinney

"We will now engage with the HSE to ensure that the recommendation is honoured in full and in a way that does not create further complications," Mr McKinney said.

A 24-hour strike by perfusionists last month led to the cancellation of cardiac surgeries across five hospitals.