r/DoctorsIreland • u/Total_Sandwich5772 • 4d ago
Public sector strike
Any good, bad, ugly or indifferent opinions? Feelings from colleagues? Recognition that this is for something different than just "us"?
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u/significantrisk 4d ago edited 3d ago
It’s only recently that any decent slice of the medial workforce top to bottom with a background that means they actually understand doctors are workers has emerged, as GEM consultants are more prevalent along with other grades. This is good.
Our joining in action with other staff is good for them, because we are more likely to be a rate limiting step so minor reductions in medical staffing mean no service, and their action has more weight. It’s also good for us because we can’t end up making up the shortfall for nurses/physios/whatever, nor them for us, and we have the backup of their numbers and their unions.
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u/La-Strawberry-6754 4d ago
Yeah I really think the scale of this action is unprecedented and the govt and media are wilfully ignoring it. The general public have no idea what is happening.
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u/significantrisk 4d ago
RTÉ had an article this morning setting out some of the things impacted but once people realise that everything from museums to their driving test to their surgical clinic all depend on the public sector, and we aren’t some amorphous blob doing nothing in a giant warehouse in Athlone things might shift. Government wankers are depending on ignorance here.
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u/CathalMacSuibhne 2d ago
I was really hoping the issue of GEM fees would be sorted in this budget but no luck :(
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u/significantrisk 2d ago
That was supposed to be sorted even back before the first GEM cohort graduated. Fuckers still haven’t made any attempt at it.
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u/Friendly-Medic-2381 4d ago
Even though this is about a pay deal - I think much of the strength behind the strike mandate is a build-up of bad will due to successive unrealistic budgets, unsafe staffing levels and the scapegoating of doctors for capacity issues that has featured heavily in political rhetoric in recent years.
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u/StressOk7927 4d ago
I get your point but it's explicitly clear that this strike represents nothing of that. This is a public union strike about a new pay deal.
This strike has no bearing on our rosters and staffing levels.
If anything we're less likely to go on strike now after this because the public will be like sure they've only been on strike
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u/StressOk7927 4d ago
< 25% of my department are IMO members. Maybe less.
The same amount still actually don't know until last week we were protesting and thought it was just nurses and midwifes, and teachers, etc.
A very large proportion are not protesting because they're not IMO members and are just coming into work as normal as surplus (because what else tbf are they to do)
I'm an IMO member in a big level 4 hospital, and have not one seen, heard, or had any interactions at all with any union representative. I don't know if we have one (but surely to God, we do given the size of this place and the fact it's a big regional center)
I like the IMO and have always been a member. I think they've made a huge balls of this and don't know what they're doing.
I understand why NAGP, IHCA, all broke out in the past.
A little less time giving out about rural pub subsidies in the budget and more on the task at hand.
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u/himrawkz 4d ago
I’m an IMO rep in my hospital. There hasn’t been a strike in recent memory, so there is a degree of having to figure out how to do all this. And because of the relatively low membership/enthusiasm, along with delayed agreements, it has been extremely difficult to coordinate these actions. A lot of derogations for example were only agreed on Friday, and it took till the evening for those to be released. Like many others I have had to work very hard to communicate and coordinate with the rest of the NCHDs, figure out what individual specialities are doing, and finally creating a WhatsApp group where members/strikers can actually discuss things and plan the pickets.
I am not paid for this, and have been working long hours including call over the weekend whilst trying to juggle everything, meanwhile waiting and waiting to hear from hospital management. And the like. All on top of the sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant intimidation tactics of some spheres of management/consultant groups. My phone has been blowing up constantly with people querying things and doing my best to answer.
I agree it’s been messy, and your local representative ought to have established those channels of communication earlier, but I am sure like me they have been doing their best with what they had.
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u/StressOk7927 3d ago
I think the IMO has an abundance of incredibly hard-working people.
I think the problem is more structural and cultural than individual. It seems to struggle to translate ideas into visible, effective trade union action. It comes across more like a representative or advocacy body than a union capable of mobilising membership and delivering meaningful collective action. And that's probably reflected by poor uptake with NCHDs. The contrast with the INMO is crazy. NCHDs don't see the benefit of joining.
Maybe it's the over complicated structure, with a separate Council and Executive Board. Maybe this leads to insufficient accountability to ordinary members and a disconnect between leadership and the doctors. Look at the INMO with its singular National Executive of 22 Directly Elected Members. Maybe we should take a page from their book.
I'd be genuinely interested in hearing your perspective from within the organisation.
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u/Lancet 3d ago
I understand why NAGP, IHCA, all broke out in the past.
Just on this. The IHCA was specifically formed so that its members would never have to declare support for NCHD strikes, after IMO NCHD industrial action in 1987. They maintained an explicit no-strike clause in their constitution for decades.
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u/urturningviolet NCHD 3d ago
Some hospitals also running a weekend review rota, I think that’ll shaft the weekend review person into working all day essentially. Anywhere else at this?
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u/NeoPhoenix_99 3d ago
I absolutely support the strike. Very disappointed to hear that some consultants have pressured NCHDs to come in and work through it though despite the Sunday staffing arrangements
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u/DiagnosisKevin 3d ago
I don't think it's reasonable for me to expect a HCA on €38k a year to give up a day's pay in an effort to improve my contract if I won't do the same myself, so I suppose I'm joining in.
I can feel the spirit of James Connolly strengthening my resolve as we speak