[Article] Nurses protest over Mater Hospital parking

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/1011/mater.html

Nurses protest over Mater Hospital parking
11 October 2004 17:00

Nurses at the Mater Hospital in Dublin have begun a working under protest campaign to complain about changes to parking facilities at the hospital.

The row began last week when nurses were refused entry to a car park beside the hospital and were told to use another facility, half a mile away.

The INO says the decision has caused inconvenience and safety concerns for nurses who have to walk 20 minutes to the other car park.

The union also says the manner in which the change was imposed, without consultation, is in breach of the national pay agreement, Sustaining Progress.

As part of the protest, nurses at the hospital have begun wearing 'working under protest' badges.

Hospital management said the car park operates on a voucher system on a first come first served basis and has been over subscribed for some time.

The overflow car park at Dalymount has been used for the past three years without any security concerns.

BrianD

Typical of how our public service employees expect to have free parking at their place of employment. Gardai seem to feel that they are entitled to park their personal cars in Pearse and Harcourt St.s. Now the nurses are going on strike because their free parking is moved. I suspect that parking for patients and visitors is difficult to get.

parsi

BrianD wrote:

Typical of how our public service employees expect to have free parking at their place of employment. Gardai seem to feel that they are entitled to park their personal cars in Pearse and Harcourt St.s. Now the nurses are going on strike because their free parking is moved. I suspect that parking for patients and visitors is difficult to get.

Does this mean that every private sector worker pays for parking ? I doubt it.. not every public sector worker gets free parking either..

BrianD

i would surmise that the majority of us working in the CBD where both the garda stations and the hospital referred to pay for our parking. We certainly don't go on strike when things are changed.

Alun

The row began last week when nurses were refused entry to a car park beside the hospital and were told to use another facility, half a mile away.

The INO says the decision has caused inconvenience and safety concerns for nurses who have to walk 20 minutes to the other car park.

Anyone who takes 20 minutes to walk half a mile needs to do a bit more exercise anyway!

shoegirl

Funny you mention this, I brought my mother to an appointment in the Mater last week and the parking was pretty much non-existent. I ended up pulling up accross the road on double yellow lines and waiting in the car. After about 20 minutes, a large executive car pulled up beside me: the chauffeur had stopped to allow his passenger make a phone call. The passenger was none other than Bertie Ahern! So if Bertie cannot get parking, well I wouldn't be too surprised that I couldn't either . . .

As for the nurses - I don't think anybody should expect free parking in this day and age but nurses work 24x7. Now anybody who works 24x7 is entitled to a bit more safety in their work, so there certainly should be slightly better facilities - or else do what Aer Lingus used to do once upon a time and have a shuttle bus to coincide with the main shift times. (Anybody know what happened to that, by the way?)

Victor

shoegirl wrote:

As for the nurses - I don't think anybody should expect free parking in this day and age but nurses work 24x7. Now anybody who works 24x7 is entitled to a bit more safety in their work, so there certainly should be slightly better facilities

Many nurses working overnight do 8pm-8am on a week-on / week-off basis, so won't be walking around in the middle of the night. I suspect the overflow car park is daytime only.

I don't know what shifts doctors work. I'm not sure if some of them go home all week.

or else do what Aer Lingus used to do once upon a time and have a shuttle bus to coincide with the main shift times. (Anybody know what happened to that, by the way?)

I'm not sure, but I think they still do it.