Hospital consultants yesterday voted not to return to contract negotiations with the HSE until they receive a "guaranteed undertaking" that all new appointments will be made under the current contract or an agreed new contract.
At an extraordinary general meeting of the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) in Dublin, 450 delegates also passed a motion of no confidence in Minister for Health Mary Harney, and confirmed plans to ballot members on what they call "slowburner" industrial action in the coming weeks.
Delegates also voted not to co-operate with the recruitment of 68 new consultants, to include refusing to devise job descriptions, shortlist applications or participate in interviews.
These posts were advertised last week against the wishes of the IHCA, prompting its withdrawal from the contract negotiations.
If, as is likely, industrial action is approved, it will take effect from May 21st, and would see consultants refusing to take part in hospital and national committees.
They would also not make themselves available for meetings with HSE senior management. They would refuse to do work which would normally be done by locums, other than emergency duties, while clinical/medical directors would refuse to carry out their administrative/ managerial duties and would revert to their "full clinical duties".
Mary McCaffrey, IHCA president, last night said should the ballot be approved, this would mean it was official IHCA policy.
The association expected that members would fully comply with the requirements of the "campaign of action".
It is thought that industrial action by IHCA members could lead to significant administrative problems were it to continue. However, the IHCA was yesterday keen to stress its belief that patient care would not be affected. "We will be doing all our patient-care work, outpatients, ward rounds, community visits . . . We will just not be interacting with management," said Ms McCaffrey.
Separately, delegates at yesterday's meeting passed a motion of no confidence in Ms Harney, with Ms McCaffrey saying this reflected a feeling that she had "sabotaged" the contract negotiations.
Potential candidates for the new consultant posts will be advised of the IHCA's policy, but will not be directed not to apply.
"External colleagues" from other countries will be requested not to assist in any way with the recruitment process.
A third motion passed yesterday said agreement on a revised contract should not be reached until a range of issues are recognised. These include the independence of clinical judgment; the doctor-patient relationship; patients' right to be treated in properly-resourced facilities; and that the HSE's responsibility for the consequences arising from a lack of resources be recognised.