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Nurses are to vote on whether they want to engage in all-out strike action in a row over pay and staffing.<\/p>\nNurses are to vote on whether they want to engage in all-out strike action in a row over pay and staffing.<\/p>\n
If passed, nurses and midwives would walk off the job for 24 hours and only provide emergency care.<\/p>\n
President of the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation, Martina Harkin-Kelly, says the Government has left them with no option.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWe have been forced down this path because the government have failed to deal with chronic understaffing. Nurses and midwives are the lowest paid professionals in the health service, which is why the HSE is finding it impossible to recruit or retain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot wait any longer. Patients deserve a properly staffed health service.\u201d<\/p>\n
INMO General Secretary Phil N\u00ed Sheaghdha said: \u201cThis is about safety. The HSE simply cannot hire enough nurses and midwives on these wages. Patients are suffering the consequences as our wards and services go understaffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNurses and midwives do not want a strike; they want a solution. The employers have already wasted a fortnight since our last ballot. The next two weeks are a cooling off period for the government to engage with us, make serious proposals and avoid industrial action.”<\/p>\n