Some staff in St Patrick's Mental Health Services in Dublin have started an indefinite strike this morning.
Siptu said the dispute is over the outsourcing of household and catering services.
The union says these staff have begun a work-to-rule at 7am this morning, and it will continue until management engages with Siptu.
Louise O'Reilly, Sinn Féin's health spokesperson, supports the staff.
She said: "The thing about St. Patrick's Hospital is that it's in the heart of the communities, it's in the heart of Dublin 8, there's an awful lot of local people employed in it
"The workers are naturally going to try and protect those jobs to the maximum extent possible from outsourcing and many trade unionists have refereed to outsourcing as the start of going for the race to the bottom."
