Workers at one of Ireland's 999 call centres will go on strike today.

The operators at the facility in Navan are taking the action in a long standing row over pay and union recognition.

Unions involved in the row say they want every member of staff to be given a living wage of €11.50 per hour - something Conduit Global says it has already agreed to.

Patients requiring emergency services today will not be affected by the action.

Ian McArdle of the Communications Workers Union claims Conduit could have avoided the strike, saying that the employer has refused to attend a conciliation hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission:

CWU General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick, has accused BT/Conduit Global's actions as displaying “open contempt for their staff and the Irish State".