Industrial action by theatre staff that had been expected to affect heart surgeries at five hospitals next Tuesday and Wednesday has been postponed after the Health Service Executive agreed to fresh talks about a pay claim.About 25 perfusionists – staff who operate the machines that do the work of a patient’s heart and lungs during some surgeries, including transplants – staged a one-day strike on Tuesday and were due to strike for two days next week.This week’s strike caused 14 elective surgeries, including two at Crumlin Children’s Hospital, to be postponed and next week’s action was expected to cause further disruption.The staff, who are members of Fórsa, are seeking the restoration of pay parity with the far larger medical scientist grade they say existed some 60 years before being broken by review of the medical scientists’ pay and conditions, which resulted in significant increases.The dispute was previously considered by the Labour Court, which recommended that the salary increases given to the medical scientists be extended to the perfusionists. But the HSE said it was not in a position to comply.Following contact between the two sides on Thursday evening, however, the union accepted a proposal from the HSE that the issue be dealt with as part of the forthcoming talks on a new pay deal for the public sector.The current deal is to expire at the end of this month, with the final instalment of the 9.25 per cent in pay increases provided for, a 1 per cent increase, having taken effect for the more than 400,000 staff affected on June 1st.Talks regarding another deal are expected to begin over the coming weeks, although no formal invitation has been issued to unions at this point.