Junior doctors at Beaumont hospital in Dublin have warned they may begin industrial action if the hospital does not withdraw what they say are threats to restrict overtime pay for emergency cover.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has said Beaumont hospital is attempting to cut costs by its decision to pay for no more than 10 hours a week of unrostered overtime by non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHD) from October 1st.
Beaumont has already run €19m over budget this year.
IMO director of industrial relations Fintan Hourihan said NCHDs at Beaumont were outraged at the proposed plan to reduce paid on-call working at the hospital.
"The directive was introduced unilaterally and without any prior discussion with NCHDs or the Irish Medical Organisation," Mr Hourihan said. "This move flies in the face of a national agreement brokered by the Labour Relations Commission in 2002 requiring that hospitals would not interfere unilaterally with rosters and emergency on-call cover for NCHDs in hospitals."
The IMO said the hospital's move was in line with the recent HSE directive placing a ban on recruitment, overtime and use of agency staff.
Ictu health unions, including the IMO, will meet later today at a Labour Relations Commission hearing to challenge the HSE freeze on staff recruitment.
The IMO says it will raise its concerns over Beaumont at the meeting and claims the HSE recruitment freeze is in breach of the social agreement, Towards 2016.
The IMO said cutbacks in the level of emergency cover provided by NCHDs at Beaumont will reduce medical cover for patients to "unacceptable levels", thereby placing their health care in jeopardy.
"The hospital has not offered any explanation as to how services can be maintained with reduced medical cover. This policy will place patients in jeopardy. This should not and cannot be tolerated," Mr Hourihan said.
"The IMO will not shirk from taking all appropriate steps including industrial action if necessary to prevent cutbacks in services to patients and contractual terms and payments to NCHDs."