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The HSE has suspended around 20 electricians at a number of acute hospitals in the south of the country in a dispute over work practice changes.
Another 20 electricians are expected to be removed from the pay-roll later today if they continue to refuse to answer pagers or take instructions in writing and by phone.
Hospitals in Cork, Kerry, Waterford, South Tipperary, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford are affected by the dispute.
This dispute, which dates back to 2001, centres on work practice changes that the HSE wants to implement.
The dispute has become deadlocked over who would be allowed change light bulbs in the hospitals and care facilities.
Electricians argued that this was exclusively their work, while the HSE argued that this would considerably add to its costs.
Two weeks ago the HSE stopped paying on-call allowances to the electricians involved in the dispute.
Yesterday the electricians responded by insisting that they would only take instruction from their immediate maintenance supervisors.
The HSE also claims that electricians at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee and at Mallow General Hospital have refused to provide emergency, 'life and death' cover.
The HSE says its services have not been affected but it is warning that services will be compromised if the dispute continues.
The electricians' union, the TEEU, has condemned the suspension of its members and says it is available for talks.
Irish healthcare such a shambles, Brits should be happy with the NHS.
Presently we are about the richest country in Europe per capita, but yet hospitals are still understaffed, nurses can't get jobs and wards are being closed.
Yeah pretty much the same everywhere. Here at my universities you have to put in a work order to get a lightbulb changed (for example), then they're all completed in that order. So if you need two light bulbs changed, they'll do the first, but if there was another job ordered before the second, they'll drive to the other part of the uni and do that, before coming back to replace the second.
Not allowed to change both at the same time, and we can't do it ourselves or the union will get you the death penalty or worse, tell you off.
And you think the NHS is bad? 
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