Theatre staff at five big hospitals countrywide are to resume industrial action and stage a two-day strike next week, with elective cardiac surgeries set to be affected.Twenty-five perfusionists, staff who operate the machinery that takes over the function of a patient’s heart and lungs during some operations, are seeking the restoration of a pay link to a much larger group of medical scientists, which was broken in recent years.The Labour Court recommended the claim be accepted by the Health Service Executive, but it said it did not have the authorisation to meet the cost involved.[ Strike action by heart surgery theatre staff suspended to allow for new talksOpens in new window ]The staff staged a one-day strike earlier this month when about 15 operations had to be cancelled and a two-day strike had been scheduled for the following week.It was called off, however, when a commitment was received that the issue would be considered as part of the wider public sector pay talks which had looked likely to get under way.After initial contacts with Government officials, however, the leaders of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Public Services Committee concluded there was no basis on which the talks could be formally started. And in the absence of an immediate process, the perfusionists’ trade union, Fórsa, has reinstated the strike action.The two-day stoppage is now scheduled to take place next Thursday and Friday, July 2nd and 3rd, with a three-day stoppage scheduled to start the following Monday.“The Labour Court recommendation is clear and unambiguous. It found that the HSE breached a long-standing agreement linking perfusionist pay with that of medical scientists, and recommended that the appropriate pay scale be applied,” said Fórsa official Ryan McKinney.“The HSE and the Department of Health need to honour the Labour Court recommendation without further delay.”He said the union has advised the HSE that it is available to meet to discuss contingency plans. The five hospitals set to be affected are the Mater hospital, St James’s Hospital and Children’s Health Ireland (Crumlin), all in Dublin, as well as Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway.