Hospital consultants will confirm their next step today in a campaign of industrial action against new contracts.
As thousands of nurses and midwives vote on plans to stop a nationwide work to rule, the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) is expected to announce the start of its move.
The health service is bracing itself for the fresh campaign, which will see consultants refusing to meet the Health Service Executive's (HSE) senior management.
From Monday, consultants will also stop providing cover for colleagues on leave, except in emergencies, step down from some hospital and national committees, and refuse to be involved in recruitment of new consultants.
The action is in response to a decision by Health Minister Mary Harney and the HSE to advertise for 68 new consultancy posts on terms which have not been agreed by the association.
A spokesman for the HSE said: "The action being taken is unnecessary and regrettable. Their withdrawal from day-to-day management of hospitals and co-operation with the management will have some impact on patient services."
More than 1,000 consultants voted in favour of industrial action, which will be confined to public hospitals. However, the IHCA said the campaign will not affect patient care, with consultants meeting their normal clinical commitments.
Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) are to ballot their 45,000 members on whether to continue with a 47-day nationwide work-to-rule after the Government's chief industrial relations trouble-shooters proposed reducing the working week to 37.5 hours by June next year. They were seeking a 10.6 per cent
pay rise and a 35-hour working week.