Irish Nurses Strike
Nurses launched the biggest strike in Irish history Tuesday, vowing to keep the nation's hospitals running at only the barest minimum until the government meets their wage demands.
Pickets went up at more than 1,000 medical facilities across the Irish Republic in a well-coordinated action by the 27,500 members of four nursing unions.
"We will stand here until we get what we are looking for," said nurse Jean Dennehy, protesting outside Limerick General Hospital in southwest Ireland, where only one of seven operating theaters was running.
More than 10,000 non-emergency appointments and operations across Ireland were canceled, although the nurses provided staff for the country's emergency rooms.
The Eastern Health Board, responsible for running hospitals in the greater Dublin area, described the situation as "a logistical nightmare."
In a mounting propaganda war with the government, many nurses said they had not wanted to strike. They did not specify their wage demands other than to say they deserved far more than the 23 percent average raise offered.
"This is the saddest and darkest day in the history of nursing in Ireland," said Helen Murphy, spokeswoman for the Irish Nurses Alliance in the western city of Galway. "But we have been forced onto the streets because the politicians refuse to listen to the grievances we have."
The government of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, previously determined not to concede to the nurses' demands, began exploratory talks with the unions late Monday after weeks of refusals.
The government emphasizes that the nurses accepted a sweeping wage-restraint package in 1997 between Ireland's leading employers and unions.
Called Partnership 2000, the deal has been credited with fueling low inflation and strong economic growth in the country - but could well unravel if the nurses gain raises that breach the pact's rules.
An independent labor court ruled earlier this year that the nurses could gain raises averaging 23 percent and still remain within the legality of Partnership 2000.
Ahern accepted that, but said anything higher would trigger "a domino effect" of raise demands from other state-paid workers, such as teachers, police, soldiers and dentists, all of whom have been plotting strikes if the nurses succeed.
The state workers' grievances have risen in line with Ireland's booming "Celtic Tiger" economy.
The boom has brought soaring profits to private employees in high-tech industries, but far less to public employees bound to Partnership 2000.
Many find it particularly hard to cope with Ireland's skyrocketing property prices, which have more than doubled in the past five years.
Nurses in Ireland make an average $21,000 a year to start, with salaries capping at about $29,000 a year.