Staff at the Mater Hospital in Dublin have spoken of the hardships facing healthcare workers
Sinead McCarville, senior housekeeper in the High Dependency unit at Mater hospital, Dublin, takes part in a 24-hour strike(Image: Brian Lawless/the Press Association)
Staff at the Mater Hospital in Dublin have spoken of the hardships facing healthcare workers, as hundreds gathered to protest over pay.
Nurses, doctors, physiotherapists and household staff are among the tens of thousands of workers from the public service unions on strike on Wednesday.
Flags, banners and signs representing various unions were held aloft but the message back to the Government was the same – fair pay for all.
Passing cars, lorries, buses and taxis blared horns of support for the large crowd that assembled outside the main entrance to the inner north Dublin hospital.
Nearby, staff from Mountjoy Prison also staged their picket line. Inside the prison, emergency staffing-level cover was provided for the prisoners with back-up staff on standby if needed.
(left to right) Deputy General Secretary of SIPTU Adrian Kane, Kevin Callinan Forsa’s Senior General Secretary, INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha, and Irish National Teachers’ Organisation General Secretary John Boyle speak to the media (Image: Brian Lawless/the Press Association)
Among those outside the Mater was Michelle Smuellen, a household assistant in the theatre who has worked at the hospital for more than 23 years.
“We want more pay. We pay a lot of tax. We are all here today to support everybody, to support one another,” she said.
“The price of everything has gone up and the pay we get is not enough to cover meals and everything. We have to pay for schools, childcare, groceries and everything.
“Everything has gone up and we want to be able to live and have a bit of extra money. Everybody is feeling it, through the bills, paying heating and electricity. We just want proper pay. Everybody is feeling the same pressure. The workload has increased as we are very short-staffed. We are all feeling it.”
Vinata Nikolovska, also a household assistant in the theatre ward, has worked in the Mater for 11 years. She said: “I’m here today to support my colleagues, and ask for an increase in pay.
“I feel a lot of pressure with tax, we pay a lot of tax. (Strike) is the right thing to do because when we come all together, that is the power.
“I am living from payment to payment, and there is very big pressure to pay the bills. I have a child and have to pay for the child’s education and pay for groceries. We are short-staffed and have to cover a lot of other duties.”
Sinead McCarville, a senior housekeeper in the high dependency unit at Mater Hospital where she has worked for 22 years, said public sector workers are entitled to more pay.
“The work has become overloaded, we are understaffed and we are under severe pressure with the patient transfers,” she said. “The staff levels in the high dependency unit is very low so when senior managers are under pressure, we are under pressure to try and get the patient out and (clear) the space.
“It has affected us with the over-workload, and everybody is burnt out and sad, and can snap at each other. There’s a lot at stake here, just give us what we want and give us the pay rise. We need more staff and pay and we are entitled to that.”
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