Tag Archives: IMPACT

THE average waiting time for dental extraction for children has dramatically increased from six weeks to eight months, following a reorganisation of the service, Impact has claimed. The Clare chairperson of Impact’s health division, Helen Liddy, expressed concern about the deterioration in the  public dental extraction service in Ennis Hospital for young children who need a general anaesthetic. This involves children aged four to nine, with one or more teeth to have removed, which weren’t due to fall out until they were 10.  It is understood there are up 70 children on the dental extraction list. Ms Liddy, who works as a dental nurse in the county clinic in Bindon Street, Ennis, explained when this service was managed locally, the waiting time was six weeks but now it is eight and sometimes 10 months, after the change was made two years ago. “Joe Greene, dental surgeon, was working in Ennis Hospital for 15 years and about two years ago, the …

IMPACT has written to the directors of Dunnes Stores outlining the union’s support for Thursday’s strike by workers at the retail chain, which has stores in Ennis and Shannon. In the letter to the directors of Dunnes Stores, IMPACT general secretary, Shay Cody said that the union, representing 60,000 workers nationwide, had pledged its full support for the strike, organised by Mandate, which takes place tomorrow. Mr Cody said that IMPACT has asked members throughout its branch network to show solidarity with striking Dunnes Stores workers in practical ways. “IMPACT is therefore encouraging all its members, their friends, families and communities not to cross the picket lines on Thursday, and not to shop at any of the store,” he said. Mr Cody said that achieving decent contracts for staff, which is at the core of the dispute, could only be achieved through dialogue.

IMPACT members working at the Limerick group of hospitals have balloted in favour of industrial action following the concerns expressed by the union about corporate governance and senior staff salaries in the hospital group. Ninety per cent of the staff balloted voted in favour of taking the industrial action. The action will involve a refusal to report to the manager of the hospital group. IMPACT assistant general secretary Andy Pike explained, “This industrial action is designed to highlight the opposition of hospital staff to the excessive and unwarranted salary payments to a senior manager through a management consultancy. It is not envisaged that the action would affect the delivery of services in any way. “The HSE director general has said the mid-west hospital group needs additional administration staff to provide vital services to patients. The money spent employing just one management consultant would cover the costs of at least five clerical staff to help the hospitals cope with increasing demands. …

CABIN crew strikes at Aer Lingus scheduled for next week at Shannon, Cork and Dublin Airports have been called off, pending consideration of a Labour Court recommendation which will be issued on Thursday. IMPACT, the union representing cabin crew, is meeting Aer Lingus management at the Labour Court in a bid to avert two days of planned industrial action next week. The rostering of staff is at the heart of the dispute. Cabin crew believe sufficient progress has been made to call off the strikes.    

CLERICAL staff at Ennis Hospital were given computer memory sticks to complete their work at home, on an unpaid basis. The Clare Champion has learned that this work included letters to patients informing them of appointments and insurance claims but excluded patient medical records or information about individual medical conditions IMPACT issued a recent instruction to its low paid members to desist from the practice of removing any Health Service Executive (HSE) documentation, in hard or electronic format, from the hospital for completion outside of normal working hours. With some staff working over 10 additional hours a week on an unpaid basis, without any extra leave, the union has also warned that chronic staffing shortages are resulting in “clinical and corporate risks” to patients and staff. If another two full-time clerical officers leave and are not replaced, the union claimed the proper day-to-day administration of the hospital would collapse. The Mid-West HSE has stated any union issues of concern to …

IMPACT, which represents cabin crew staff at Aer Lingus, has condemned the decision by management at the airline to close the cabin crew base at Shannon from the end of March 2014, putting 87 jobs under threat. The announcement was made by Aer Lingus on Thursday last, the same day that Ryanair announced eight new routes from the airport. On Thursday, Aer Lingus confirmed it had informed its staff of planned changes to Shannon’s cabin crew base, explaining the operation there is no longer viable following failure to secure co-operation from IMPACT to allow its members to operate the smaller 757 aircraft on new transatlantic services. Responding to the announcement, IMPACT said the measure is “an act of wanton destruction upon the livelihoods of workers who are loyal to the company, and a potentially vicious blow to the economy of the Shannon region”. IMPACT said its members in Aer Lingus across the country will fight the closure. The union said …