SIPTU says that ambulance workers are feeling very stressed and unappreciated in their jobs.
95% of ambulance workers balloted have voted in favour of industrial action as members say long promised reforms on paramedics pay grades have yet to be implemented.
Workers say that their 12 hour shifts regularly exceed those hours and the pressure of meeting ambulance response times is being hampered by long delays in hospital turnarounds.
All new paramedics must have a degree Level 8 qualification and workers say reforms to their pay grades have not yet been implemented.
SIPTU is hopeful that a resolution can be found in the next three weeks but have not ruled out strike action if it remains unresolved.
SIPTU's Ted Kenny told RedFM News that the service is under resourced.
"It's not only the paramedics is the intermediate care service, it's advanced paramedics. They all feel the pressures of the job at the moment, I suppose, mainly because they're stretched and they're under resourced and had been under resourced for a good number of years.
"And when paramedics come to a scene that a person has been waiting fort an ambulance for two or three hours, of course it's stressful for them, because they get abused as to why it's taking me so long.
"So yes, all those factors make the job of being a paramedic at this point in time, a stressful enough job."
