Workers at Ireland's 999 call centres have announced strike action.

The 12-hour work stoppage is set to take place within the coming weeks, and is expected to happen before the election.

Members of the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) voted by 88% in favour of industrial action at Conduit Global - the company that runs the service.

The company has criticised the proposed action, saying it has engaged with staff and improved working conditions.

A BT spokesperson said, " BT is alarmed to have been shown a CWU statement by the media last night that said 'members will ensure that any action they take does negatively impact the vital public service'."

"It is very disappointing that a trade union, which is not recognised by BT or Conduit, has decided to take this unnecessary course of action in relation to the vital emergency call answering service".

"We are unaware of the details of the union ballot or the number of union members who plan to step away from their phones as we have only learned of this news from the national media".

Members of the CWU want their employer to pay a living wage of €11.50 per hour.

They are also calling for on the an end to disciplinary actions over issues such as the length of toilet breaks.