Inpatients at University Hospital Waterford have been experiencing delayed meal-times as a result of industrial action.
The action has been ongoing since May 27th between Unite Trade Union and the HSE. As part of the action, staff from the catering, portering, and laundry departments of UHW are engaging in a work-to-rule.
A letter has been issued to patients of UHW by General Manager, Ben O'Sullivan.
The letter, seen by WLR News, offers an apology to inpatients, saying: "I want to ensure all patients and your families that Management within University Hospital Waterford have put contingencies in place to attempt to minimise the impact that this action is having our patients."
It continues to say,"Despite these contingencies, we are aware that the work to rule is having a direct impact particularly in relation to the timely delivery of meals."
The union says members voted to take industrial action following a failure by the HSE to include laundry staff in a regrading scheme, which it's claimed has left them financially worse off.
Laundry staff have historically been aligned with catering and portering staff.
In addition to the failure to include laundry workers in the regrading scheme, it's claimed some upgraded staff were awarded incremental credits when calculating their new pay rates.
Management extended an apology to any patient impacted by the delays in meal service and stated their hope that the industrial action be resolved as quickly as possible.
For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.
