THE trade union representing the majority of Northern Ireland's healthcare workers is to begin 'work to rule' next week.
Unison yesterday announced a timescale for "phased" industrial action - which will run through to March next year - and how services will be impacted.
Last week it also confirmed it was in talks with counterparts in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) about "co-ordinating" strike action.
The RCN has earmarked December 18 for a walk-out, the first in its 103-year history.
The crisis centres on a dispute around staffing and pay.
Nurses, paramedics, support service, clerical and social services staff across the north's five health trusts will be among those taking part in the first "wave" of action by Unison, starting on Monday.
It will affect:
- Sterile services across major hospitals
- Hospital and social services transport across the Belfast and Northern health trusts
- Domestic services, portering, catering and laundry in the Ulster and Lagan Valley Hospitals
- Portering services in Craigavon Area Hospital.
Unison, which has almost 30,000 members in the north's healthcare sector, said groups of workers will stage actions at different locations and on separate days, with trust bosses receiving a week's notice of their plans.
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Working to rule will include:
- refusing to have breaks interrupted
- working strictly to health and safety protocols
- withdrawal from all union/management/Department of Health engagement except regional meetings on dispute resolution
- refusing to cover the work of others taking action.
Regional secretary Patricia McKeown said members had "not taken the decision lightly".
She said "Phase 1" will run from November 25 "up to and including 18th December", with Phase 2 running to March 2020.
"Our members are determined to fight for justice on both pay and staffing levels. They are determined to break the cycle of hundreds of millions of pounds haemorrhaging out of the health budget and into the hands of private agencies," Ms McKeown said.
"They are determined to see our NHS workforce stabilised and allowed to get on with the serious business of delivering health and social care to the people of Northern Ireland.
"We know that the public is supportive of our campaign for pay justice. We now challenge those in charge... to match the courage and determination of the workforce to save the health service from further crisis."
In a statement earlier this month in response to planned industrial action by trade unions, the Department of Health said it "remains focussed on finding a way forward".
"In this context we are currently finalising a formal pay offer for 2019/20," a spokesman said.
"This will be the best offer possible within the budget available, but the reality is that our ability to address pay issues is inevitably constrained at a time of intense budgetary pressures for health and social care services.
"Every pound spent on one priority area is a pound not available for another."
