The Executive Council of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) has approved a campaign of industrial action to address staff shortages.
The decision was made after a month-long period of consultation, during which the union claimed it became abundantly evident that hospitals are experiencing a major staffing crisis and that dangerous staffing is increasingly the norm.
“Ballots for industrial action have been sanctioned on a location-by-location basis, as it is clear that the staffing levels in certain locations are enduring a huge shortfall,” said INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.
“We know that many hospitals cannot keep up with the pace at which nurses are leaving to work in safer environments,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.
The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive have been urged by the INMO to create a fully financed workforce plan for the upcoming winter ahead of the INMO Annual Delegate Conference in May, the organisation said.
The union stated that if the plan is not finished by then, a national poll for industrial action will be taken into consideration.