Ambulance Workers Right To Strike

On Wednesday April 8th nearly 2,000 National Ambulance Service workers across the country voted overwhelmingly for industrial action. This vote by ambulance workers for industrial action up to strike action is part of a long standing dispute with their employers in the HSE regarding salaries not matching an increased responsibilities and workload over the last 20 years.

This follows an independent report which recommended updating their salary scales but this was not acted on by the government and the HSE. Unite members have voted for action too. The HSE said it had met with SIPTU and Unite in February and confirmed it was committed to entering further discussion on Workplace Relations Commission proposals.

This is another example of government drawing out disputes and grinding down workers using what they call the “mechanisms to promoting industrial harmony” but in reality the WRC where unions and employers spend endless hours in “talks” and “mediation” has the effect of stifling workers power and avoiding using the withdrawal of labour.

But if a muscle isn’t used it withers away. The same goes for workers taking action. This vote is a mandate for real action. But as long as the leadership of our unions is full of overpaid bureaucrats and reformists they will be happy to play the government’s game.

Their job is to hold back the potential revolutionary power of workers and to convince us to accept mere crumbs. This is why we need revolutionary workers to link up and fight within all our unions, to challenge the leadership and to transform our unions into fighting organisations.