Members of the Fórsa trade union held a lunchtime demonstration at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital earlier today to protest at the manner in which promotions and the upgrading of a number of posts within the Louth Hospital Group have been conducted.
The Louth Branch of Fórsa maintains that these actions have occurred with no regard to any agreed processes.
Members brought what they say are failings of senior management to adequately address these issues to the attention of Fórsa branch representatives earlier this year.
Fórsa made representations to both Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Royal College of Surgeons Hospital Group (RCSI) senior HR management teams but to no avail.
“Management continued to act outside of the agreed processes and therefore proceeded to act outside of fair, clear and transparent regarding a number of promotional posts” said a Union spokesperson.
“In September of this year Fórsa sought the assistance of the WRC Advisory Service in an effort to resolve these issues [but] while we are still waiting on a date for this, management continue to make appointments outside of the process.”
The Louth Branch of Fórsa say they are willing to engage with all the appropriate industrial relations mechanisms to resolve this issue but they are insisting that senior management “…put a stop to the current practice within OLOL Hospital of appointing staff without an agreed fair, clear and transparent process.”
