A nurses and midwives strike could be on the cards, if one group of graduates does not receive a pay rise.
The INMO, the PNA and SIPTU staged a protest outside the Dáil today, with around 300 people demonstrating.
This afternoon union representatives will also meet with Health Minister Simon Harris.
They are calling for an incremental credit to be restored for those who graduated between 2011 and 2015.
These graduates earn up to €1,400 less than their colleagues who graduated before or after this time period.
Nurse Claire Scully explained that those who graduate this year will earn more than those who qualified between 2011 and 2015.
"There's no equality whatsoever in it," she argued. "There's no respect for a nurse whatsoever."
Image: Sean Defoe
Liam Doran, General Secretary of the INMO, said he would not rule out strike action.
"We are in a crisis with regards to nurses and midwives in this country," he argued. "One of the reasons for that is a failure to grant this incremental credit.
"If it isn't reversed, then certainly from an INMO point of view we will take whatever steps we have to take to ensure that our nurses are treated equitably and fairly."
He added that what we have now is "grossly inequitable [and] nonsensical" and must be reversed.
