From RTÉ this morning:
The HSE has suspended around 20 electricians at a number of acute hospitals in the south of the country in a dispute over work practice changes.
Another 20 electricians are expected to be removed from the pay-roll later today if they continue to refuse to answer pagers or take instructions in writing and by ‘phone.
Hospitals in Cork, Kerry, Waterford, South Tipperary, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford are affected by the dispute.
This dispute, which dates back to 2001, centres on work practice changes that the HSE wants to implement.
The dispute has become deadlocked over who would be allowed change light bulbs in the hospitals and care facilities.
Electricians argued that this was exclusively their work, while the HSE argued that this would considerably add to its costs.
Two weeks ago the HSE stopped paying on-call allowances to the electricians involved in the dispute.
Yesterday the electricians responded by insisting that they would only take instruction from their immediate maintenance supervisors.
The HSE also claims that electricians at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee and at Mallow General Hospital have refused to provide emergency, ‘life and death’ cover.
The HSE says its services have not been affected but it is warning that services will be compromised if the dispute continues.
The electricians’ union, the TEEU, has condemned the suspension of its members and says it is available for talks.
Is it just me, or is this one of the most amazing stories of the year. Light bulbs? A strike in the health services over who should change a light bulb. It sounds like a joke. Have we lost a sense of proportion (how often have you read that on a blog?)? I’m with the HSE on this one. They are trying to bring down costs and now they have a strike because they want to allow non-electricians to put in the light bulbs and get on with the job of healthcare.
Loopy.
2 users commented in " Electricians on strike over light bulbs "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackIt’s not just you Jamy. The world seems to have gone crazy. It’s not just in your neck of the woods, it’s everywhere. Where I work a particular firedoor does not shut automatically when there is a fire alarm. I have reported this repeatedly. Someone came, looked at the door long and hard and then disappeared. In that area 6 girls are boarding. If a fire breaks out from the kitchen they are dead meat.
Monique
Yep, happens all the time. I’m not one to look back and talk about ‘good old days’ or any of that, but sometimes it seems like you need to go aaaaaarrgh.