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MLSA are a disgrace

  • 24-05-2022 12:23pm
    #1
    Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    The Irish medical laboratory scientists association are on their second day of strike in the last week or so, over pay issues.

    however when I hear that some cancer services are being affected by this strike, then this should be called out as a thundering disgrace and tbh the MLSA, will win zilch sympathy with the general public.

    I know that the HSE and the dept of health don’t come out of this well, but this provocative decision by the MLSA is taken industrial relations disputes to an all new low.

    What are other posters thoughts on this?



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Comments

  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Utterly selfish.

    No worker should be allowed to strike if they impact on essential services, such as healthcare.



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Employees voluntarily enter into a contract with their employer.

    To enter that contract, then withdraw labour, should be considered a breach of that contract - and looked down upon accordingly.

    Because that's what strikes are: organized breach of contract.

    The employee has a choice to remain or to leave. But to hold the proverbial gun to the head of an employer, and then for that to have knock-on consequences for healthcare, is a double insult.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,526 ✭✭✭ Martina1991


    The first strike day was last Wednesday. Today was the second but tomorrow's is postponed due to talks with the Labour court. There's 3 days pencilled in next week.

    This is much bigger deal than asking for pay parity. The profession has had chronic staff retention issues for years and the HSE have ignored it.

    If medical laboratory science falls apart, so will the healthcare of the entire country.

    More cancelled appointments, surgeries, curtailed GP testing, missed cancer diagnosis.

    Laboratory testing is critical to healthcare. It's in the nations interest that these issues are resolved properly.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,533 ✭✭✭ Corben Dallas


    They are a total disgrace. This dispute is about HSE (public sector) wanting the same rate of pay as private sector MLS workers ie the old chestnut ...Benchmarking.

    Heard one of the strikers on the news say something along the lines of " I did my four years of training and then took pay cut...!!!" WRONG!!!!!!. You did 4 years of training and then joined the HSE knowing full well the pay deal u signed up for, if you wanted to get the 8% gap you should have joined the private sector. The entitlement of these people... if you want private sector rates then join the private sector Medical Labs!!!! 😡



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,918 ✭✭✭ Anita Blow


    As far as I know essential cancer services weren't affected?

    I work in a hospital and they ran an on-call service with all urgent/ED/ICU/HDU samples processed with all other samples processed by process of derogation.



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,526 ✭✭✭ Martina1991


    A report from the HSE is 2001 found that there was no difference to the work that a biochemist and medical scientists do. Benchmarking was ridiculous. They agreed both professionals should be paid the same. And they didn't honour it.

    Biochemists only work in one department of a laboratory. You can't have a functioning hospital without all the other departments.

    Private hospital labs also have medical scientists who are not paid the same as biochemists.

    This is probably the first time a lot of people who have even heard the name medical scientists and people think this happened suddenly or on a whim.

    You don't realise how long so many issues have gone on completely ignored. Industrial action is a last resort.



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,526 ✭✭✭ Martina1991


    Yes every hospital negotiated a list of derogations prior to the strike days.

    Any emergency sample that wasn't included in derrogations can be processed through a chain of communication from consultant to strike committee to laboratory.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,384 ✭✭✭ newhouse87


    waited 20years to strike, entitle to strike for a month straight if they want.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,242 ✭✭✭ brokenangel


    I 100% agree, I think we should reduce socail welfare for people that can work and give that money to the scientists!!!



  • Registered Users Posts: 742 ✭✭✭ Jellybaby_1


    I'm reading this thread because I want to know exactly what the strike is all about. I read their placard that said 'equal pay for equal work' and I would support that in any area but I don't know much about this type of work. I am curious though, what are the low salaries biochemists and medical scientists are on?



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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,242 ✭✭✭ brokenangel


    Biochemist is from 36k to circa 100k depending on level. No idea what payment is like in private but on top of that they will get HSE pension which is far more than any private one.

    The only other one i found was analytical chemist, 45k to 76k ranging on experience etc and then pension on top.

    Again no idea if this is comparable to the private sector

    I am not saying this is low/high/medium just providing the information based on HSE pay scales



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,742 ✭✭✭✭ Faugheen


    They've waited 20 years and successive governments of sitting on their hands.

    They had to do something.

    I don't believe for one second some of the usual anti-union types actually give a shite about cancer appointments etc either.



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,526 ✭✭✭ Martina1991


    Biochemists starting salary is 37,307

    Medical scientists start on 34,420


    Other health and social care professionals for comparison are: speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, physios: 37,552

    Physiologists (vascular, cardiac, neuro, respiratory) 37,258

    Radiographers 36,058



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,854 ✭✭✭ salonfire


    Medical Scientists couldn't get the points for Biochemistry so ended up studying in DIT or whatever rather than the universities. Now, they want to be paid the same as someone with better academic achievements.

    Maybe medical scientists should have studied harder so that they to could be biochemists.



  • Registered Users Posts: 24,662 ✭✭✭✭ AndrewJRenko


    Not paying decent wages does vastly more harm to the viability of essential services than a couple of protests days in the long term. MLSA are continuing to provide essential services throughout the dispute, even though they’re not paid to do so.



  • Registered Users Posts: 7,914 ✭✭✭ BrianD3


    I support the strike however med lab science is one of the best (of a bad lot) science careers.

    a) There are hospitals in most counties

    b) Many positions are in the PS i.e. are unionised and secure if permanent

    c) There is a semblance of a career path (scientist, senior, chief)

    d) They have the power to seriously impact the health service if they withdraw their labour. The general public is completely ignorant about scientific work, it's as though they expect hospital lab tests to be done by robots or "someone just presses a button and out pops a result"

    e) Crucially, there are only a limited number of degrees which allow a person to legally work as a medical scientist

    Anyway, LOL at some of the posters in this thread supporting the strike but also refuting my thread about science being a poor career choice. Maybe you should talk to some of the people I know with degrees in chemistry, biochemistry etc. who went back to college to study med lab science because they couldn't get a job with their first degree.




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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 33,412 CMod ✭✭✭✭ ancapailldorcha


    It's good but it's not as good as you portray it.

    Most people I know in the sector had to do MSc's after getting their AMLS-recognised degrees. On top of that they had to go and work in the NHS for years and had to take jobs in Ireland wherever they could be found. One lad I know wants to live in Cork but it stuck in Donegal. Competition is fierce and the entry requirements are arguably higher than necessary. This is all just for Scientist roles. Seniors and Chief roles tend to only become available when one retires or climbs the latter so competition is fiercer there.

    I recall your thread about science being a poor career choice. It was absolute scutter with no evidence or cogency in it whatsoever. It's weird that you've brought this dead horse here to flog.

    We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man - the County of Tyrone.

    H. H. Asquith



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