Thousands of hospital support staff are set to strike on Thursday after talks over pay issues ended without agreement. The union Siptu represents around 10,000 HSE support staff who are set to strike, likely causing significant nationwide disruption to health services. The pay dispute follows a job-evaluation process that found the skill levels for HSE support staff had increased significantly in recent years, leading to union claims for pay rises. Unions and management had previously met last Thursday, but failed to reach an agreement to avert a strike. Commenting after talks concluded, Paul Bell, Siptu health division organiser, said the strike would go ahead on Thursday morning.

Source: The Irish Times June 17, 2019 20:15 UTC