Inside the Nurses' Strike

More than 30 nurses and midwives converged on the steps of the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street today in concurrence with a nationwide strike led by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

The group joined more than 35,000 other INMO members across the country for the first in a series of six 24-hour strikes demanding pay parity to other healthcare professionals, such as physiotherapists, who have the same certifications but higher starting salaries.

The widespread outcry follows an ongoing dispute as nurses and midwives report a recruitment and retention issue that has grown fervently since their hours were increased and wages decreased in the wake of the 2008 recession.

“It’s basically become a crisis in our health service,” said Jane Bridgeman, 39, a clinical nurse manager from Dublin. “There isn't adequate staffing, it’s reached dangerous levels in terms of nurse-patient ratios and it’s just become unsafe in that we have not got the right amount of nurses.”

By leaving their posts for an entire day, and providing only lifesaving care and emergency response teams in the meantime, nurses and midwives are protesting the wage disparities that have led to critical staffing shortages.

With 39-hour work weeks and a post-qualification starting salary of €24,604, Irish nurses and midwives frequently face financial hardship. This has elicited a troubling decrease in staff as droves of professionals in this sector flock to positions overseas where they receive higher compensation.

“When I qualified for midwifery, I went to the states and I tripled my salary,” said Debbie Fitzgerald, a 53-year-old Wicklow native.

Despite the superior pay rate in America, her love for Ireland and a desire to be near her family drew Fitzgerald back to Dublin. But that hasn’t made the income disparity any easier to fathom. “I’m still trying to get over it 20 years later,” she said.

Meanwhile, younger nurses and midwives devise plans to emigrate without returning. Anna-May Kiely, 24, intends to leave Ireland within the year, choosing to continue her midwifery career in New Zealand.

Although she has only been a qualified midwife for 18 months, Kiely said she already feels the effects of the pay parity crisis.

“A lot of nurses and midwives, they can't afford to buy anything within the local area where they're meant to work,” she said. “You've got midwives who have to commute like an hour every day because they can't afford to live around this area.”

Kate Casey, a 53-year-old nurse and midwife from Dublin echoed the same concern for the newly-qualified professionals. “Now this is more about the younger midwives who can’t afford the rents they’re being asked to make in Dublin,” she said.

“If you look in London, there’s London Weighting,” Casey continued, referencing the allowance given to certain civil servants — including nurses — to offset the expensive costs that ensue city-living. “So that is something going towards taking the pressure off of people, but that doesn’t apply in Dublin.”

By increasing wages for midwives and nurses, INMO members hope to see an influx of staff, ultimately creating a safer work environment for employees and better care for patients.

“We can’t give the care we’re supposed to give people because we don’t have the numbers,” said Fionnuala Mullen, a nurse and midwife from Dublin who has worked in the field for more than 30 years.

Despite this current strike, government officials have been hesitant to promise a pay rise. “The government aren’t budging at all, the ministers responsible aren’t even meeting with the union,” Mullen said.

With five more strikes planned in coming weeks, Irish nurses and midwives hope to see an immediate shift in the present state of affairs. However, Mullen and many others are prepared for an enduring dispute.

“When you take something like this on, you have to presume that it’s going to go on for a while,” she said. “You can’t expect it to be resolved anywhere quickly at this point.”

Additional reporting by Luke Dean