DON’T GET SICK THIS WINTER

Nurses set to cause A&E chaos with strikes Further wage hikes costing €300m sought Demanded despite average pay of €51k

OUR overcrowded A&Es are set to be plunged into further crisis this winter as nurses prepare to strike.

In a bid to win more pay, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s 40,000 members have voted overwhelmingly to back strike action over pay and staff shortages.

The union is to announce a series of 24-hour stoppages early next year when only emergency and life-saving care will be provided.

Union management claim the average nurse earns €45,700 after 15 years and has demanded an across-the-board 12% pay rise for all their members.

But the Government has pointed to a recent independent report that found nurses earn an average of €51,000 once allowances, overtime and other payments are included.

The report, by the Public Service Pay Commission, also found that current

pay rates are not affecting the ability to recruit and retain nursing staff.

The Government has said the INMO pay claim would cost the State €300million and lead to knock-on claims from other public-sector workers.

It has instead suggested a more targeted round of pay hikes worth €20million, which would see nurses in key areas such as emergency departments and maternity get increased allowances.

The industrial action announcement comes as the INMO daily trolley-watch survey found that 465 patients admitted for treatment by hospitals yesterday were on trolleys waiting for beds.

It also comes a day after the Psychiatric Nurses Association announced its members had voted by 95% in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action.

The Irish Patients’ Association’s Stephen McMahon warned that a strike would

‘Patients at the centre of this’

exacerbate the already underpressure hospital system, particularly in the early part of the year when the numbers in our EDs tends to surge.

Mr McMahon told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I think it is a very grave situation that requires the immediate attention of the union and the Government to ensure the interest of patients are put first.

‘It is all about patient care – they are at the centre of this.

‘A solution has to be found to prevent stoppages, especially at a time of year when there is already extreme pressure on hospitals.’

The Government’s recent proposal, which the INMO rejected, would have seen some nurses’ salaries rise by €4,500. However, the union said it would only impact a small amount of nurses and were rejected by 94% of INMO members in October.

The union says nurses and midwives are the lowest-paid graduate professionals in the health service, earning thousands less than similarly qualified health professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists and radiographers, despite having a longer working week.

The IMNO says a staff nurse earns €31,110 after one year, rising to €45,701 after 15 years. The Public Service Pay Commission report found that pay is not a major problem when it comes to hiring staff.

‘The Commission is not persuaded, based on the evidence available, that current pay arrangements are, in themselves, a significant impediment to recruitment,’ it said, adding that Central Applications Office figures indicate that a career in nursing and midwifery continued to be ‘attractive to school leavers’.

In 2018, there were 5,494 first-preference applicants for 1,830 nursing and midwifery undergraduate places, or 3.06 first-preference choices for every available place.

In reference to the strike vote, INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: ‘Ireland’s nurses and midwives are speaking with one clear voice. This vote reflects a deep frustration in our professions, which the Government cannot continue to ignore.

‘Nurses and midwives simply want to do their jobs and care for patients properly. But low pay has led to staff shortages, compromising safe care.’ An INMO spokesman said: ‘The Government’s proposals would have made no difference to the majority of Ireland’s nurses. The pay offer was restricted to a small group.’

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Simon Harris said yesterday: ‘It is the minister’s belief that industrial action should be avoided and he is calling on all parties to work intensively together to avert industrial action.’

She added that officials from the Department of Health and the HSE, as well as both nursing unions, had been invited to attend the Public Service Agreement’s National Oversight Body tomorrow.

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