MLSA are a disgrace

If the state paid them the same as their peers there would have been no disruption to cancer services

These disputes have been going on for over 20 years. No medical scientist wants to be on strike. This was completely and utterly the last resort due to the HSE and DOH ignoring an entire profession until it reached breaking point.

This could and should have been avoided a long time ago but the HSE have failed to follow through on a commitment they made in 2001.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

As said at the start, this has been going on for a long time, these scientists put industrial action on the backburner for two years in the best interests of public health, stuck with their sh1tty pay and conditions because they were needed in a pandemic.

Now they're looking for improvements, the least the public can do is support them.

Donnelly and the HSE had a long warning that this was coming and they did nothing. They could very easily have cut this off by talking improvements 3 months ago, but they didn't.

The MLSA's willingness to call off strike action on the basis of talks being started goes to show how seriously they take their role and how little effort Donnelly needed to put in to avoid this.

The man is a complete joke.

Complete and utter nonsense.

Medical science in TUD (formerly DIT) was 576 points this year.

CIT/UCC course was 590

ATU galway (formerly GMIT) was 517

Most Medical scientists also have a masters as its needed for promotion.

This is a highly educated profession.

Biochemists can only work in one department. How can you have specialities like Haematology, Blood transfusion, Histopathology Etc without medical scientists.

"Absolute scutter" again, LOL. Coming from the poster who had to emigrate and now is waxing lyrical about how he has a good job in a great university.

Plenty of discussion on the issues faced by actual scientists in that other thread.

Sounds like you are suffering from a type of Stockholm Syndrome or have a vested interest. As you work for a university, likely a combination of both.

The career prospects for med lab scientists are better than those for scientists with majors in chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, environmental science and others. The fact that med lab scientists are now striking doesn't say much for science as a career choice.

I've noticed this with you in other threads. telling people they're talking sh*te and denying their experiences/shutting down discussion by demanding evidence that you know can't be provided. Then fecking off. I wonder what evidence would suffice for you in this case? Payslips or lists of names of those who had to do a second degree because they couldn't get a job with their science degree. Including names of those who went back to study med lab science because their first science major was a mistake. Then managed to get a job and are now on strike.

I can't understand how anyone wouldn't support our healthcare system (or other emergency services like fire and gardai) being well funded including fair and equal pay.

100% back strike action when people have been fobbed off, especially to this length. The HSE itself is a shitshow that requires an overhaul, funding and a massive recruitment drive. 4 day weeks for the staff and ensuring they are working set hours and not being run into the ground.

I don't give a **** how much it costs because when I'm on a hospital bed I'd prefer to be treated by people who are happy with their working conditions than people who are overworked and underpaid.

absolutely, workers should never be allowed strike, ever, they should just suck it up, and get on with their lives, and be grateful in life!

Salaries in private match the rates agreed in the public hospitals.

This disputes predates the creation of the HSE

Point out where I said that MLS should earn less. I already said I support their strike.

Lack of recognition of scientific work and 18 year olds being misled by vested interests, the clueless and those with short memories regarding the career prospects in science - that is relevant here.

The medical scientists have had a valid gripe for 20 years yet only now are striking, why is that. A "nothing to see here, shut up and keep the head down" type attitude from some? Like in the other thread where you refused outright to take on board anything negative about science job prospects despite your own posted history of emigration and difficulty getting a job.

Scientific work is regarded as nonproductive, it isn't patient facing and the general public doesn't understand it. It's already an uphill battle without people talking rubbish about all the "great opportunities" in science. I've come across several scientists who complain regularly about their career path yet have agreed to do presentations to secondary school kids on scientific careers and only a positive spin was allowed. I'm seeing a pattern here.