Caredoc Wicklow Staff To Join National Strike A Week From Christmas As Pay Agreement Not Respected

Staff at Caredoc including nurses and other support staff in Wicklow and who are members of INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) and SIPTU — have announced they will begin strike action from mid December

Caredoc Wicklow, which provides out‑of‑hours GP and urgent care services in South Wicklow — including for people around Arklow could now face strike action and therefore lack of available services for potentially unwell or injured members of the public around the county of Wicklow and at 14 other sites around the country.

SIPTU and INMO members employed at Caredoc have announced their intention to commence industrial action in the form of a withdrawal of labour, effective from December 18th.

Unions want the implementation of the 2023 WRC pay agreement for Section 39 organisations, specifically an 8% increase for workers at Caredoc.

Caredoc nurses provide a range of services around the country, including GP out-of-hours services, telephone triage and community intervention. 

The HSE has confirmed to the trade unions that in May 2025 they provided €647,834 to Caredoc for the purpose of paying this increase to staff.

The unions are seeking for this to be applied without delay. Thus far money paid by the HSE has not been applied to members’ salaries, and the unions state that this warrants a special inquiry into the funding model and fiscal responsibility. 

INMO Industrial Relations Officer Grainne Walsh said: “Caredoc nurses provide such an invaluable service around the country, taking significant pressure off acute and public health services. 

“There is no justification for this employer holding this money and not paying it to their staff as stipulated when it was paid to them. 

“Our members have no desire to withdraw their services in the middle of winter, but all other avenues have been exhausted. We will be meeting with workplace representatives to discuss next steps and ensure that all contingency and organisational arrangements are in place for work stoppages.

“The employer has had more than enough time and opportunity to resolve this pay issue, and our members are now forced to apply additional pressure to ensure they are fairly paid.”

Services include telephone triage, appointment‑based GP visits, possibly house visits, and urgent non-emergency medical care.