Strike action to proceed at Caredoc as talks break down ahead of Christmas
Out-of-hours GP services in Carlow and across the southeast face significant disruption this week
STAFF represented by SIPTU and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) are set to begin a 24-hour strike from 8am on Thursday 18 December with further stoppages planned for Monday 23 December, and additional action over the Christmas period.
The dispute centres on an 8% pay increase agreed under a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission process for Section 39 organisations, which unions say has not been implemented for Caredoc’s 270 members despite funding being provided by the HSE.
In a statement issued yesterday, Caredoc called on the unions to suspend their planned action “on humanitarian grounds”, warning that the strike coincides with the busiest time of year for the service.
“This 24-hour industrial action coincides with the busiest time of the year for Caredoc, which plays a vital role in maintaining a frontline health service for thousands of patients,” a Caredoc spokesperson said.
“The current winter flu epidemic, expected to peak over the Christmas period, is proving particularly virulent this year as hospitals and GP services already struggle to provide adequate cover.” The service, which was founded in Carlow in 2001, provides GP out-of-hours services across Carlow, Kilkenny, south Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, south Wicklow and the northwest counties of Donegal, Sligo, west Cavan and Leitrim, serving approximately 730,000 people. Caredoc handles around 30,000 patients during the Christmas period.
According to RTÉ, the HSE issued a statement this morning placing responsibility for the dispute firmly with Caredoc, stating that €647,000 was allocated to Caredoc South-East in March 2025 under a WRC agreement and “has already been paid over”.
“The dispute arises because Caredoc has refused to pass on pay increases to its staff, despite receiving funding from the HSE for this purpose,” an HSE spokesperson said.
“Southdoc and Shannondoc passed on these increases to staff without issue; Caredoc has not. Caredoc argues that paying staff would undermine its separate claim to be recognised as a Section 39 organisation.” The HSE said GP out-of-hours services are provided under the GMS contract, not under Section 39 arrangements, and this distinction was accepted by unions at the WRC.
Caredoc responded that it “remains committed to intensive engagement with the HSE and to arriving at a fair result that can hopefully restore pay parity between all its staff members and HSE equivalents, as was the case up to 2021”.
SIPTU Organiser Ger McNally told RTÉ his members are “deeply disappointed” that no resolution was reached at the talks.
“Our members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action due to their employer, CareDoc, failing to apply the agreed pay increases of 8% that have been due since 2023,” Mr McNally said.
“It was only when our members served notice of industrial action that management and the HSE took the issue seriously and engaged directly on the matter. We are extremely disappointed that CareDoc has failed to put forward any proposals to address the claim to date.” The strike action is expected to result in the loss of up to 10,000 hours of clinical consultations over the Christmas period. Further 24-hour strikes are planned for 27 December and 2 January, with a 48-hour strike scheduled from 29 December.
The 150 INMO members and 120 SIPTU members involved in the action include triage nurses, drivers for doctors and receptionists.
As previously reported, staff held a lunchtime protest in Carlow on 26 November, marching from the Seven Oaks Hotel to Caredoc’s head office at St Dympna’s Hospital. At the time, Mr McNally told this newspaper that the last meaningful engagement from management was in March of this year.
