What’s the nurses’ pay deal like?

What does this deal mean in a nutshell?

It promises a pay boost for nurses by moving onto a higher new salary scale, plus a 20pc hike in allowances for many of them in return for being more productive and flexible in their roles. How much will it cost?

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform says the Labour Court proposals will cost €10m to €15m this year and €30m to €35m next year.

It says this is the cost after savings are taken into account.

These savings include reducing the number of pay rises due to nurses under a separate deal for recent recruits.

It is unclear how much the savings will amount to.

So how will the Government pay for it?

The court’s recommendation suggested it would be funded by making savings rather than increasing costs.

It said this would be done by reducing the pay rises due to recruits, although those who move onto the higher pay scale will essentially get these back.

Savings will also be found by cutting spending on agency staff and through extra “productivity” by nurses.

How will we know if the savings are being made? The court says a ‘verification body’ will be set up to monitor them and if they are not seen to be made by the end of the year, the whole deal will be halted.

What is the new nurses’ salary scale like?

The new ‘enhanced nurse practice’ salary scale for staff nurses goes up in eight annual pay increments from a starting point of €35,806 to €45,841.

It then rises to €47,201 after another three years.

The comparable pay scale for staff nurses now starts at €33,367 and rises to €44,343.

Following the extra threeyear increment, it increases to €45,701.

So a staff nurse at the top of the new pay scale will get basic pay of €47,201 compared with €45,701 now – a €1,500 increase.

This does not include overtime and allowances or pay rises due under the existing public sector pay deal this year or next.

Will the nurses get an increase in allowances?

The proposal says location and qualification allowances due to rise by 20pc will be extended to nurses and midwives in medical and surgical areas.

It is understood that this will apply to thousands of extra nurses.

Didn’t nurses want a 12pc pay rise?

They did, and they’re not getting that.

The nursing unions will sell this deal as the first step on a pathway to equal pay with other healthcare professionals.

There is speculation the deal means an average 2.5pc pay rise, but union sources dispute this.

What are patients promised in return for the pay boost?

The court says this is phase one of a “fundamental” change in the role of the staff nurse.

It aspires to “better and safer” healthcare for patients.

This includes fast-tracking a staffing framework that would mean more nurses by rolling out a ratio of 80pc nurses to 20pc healthcare assistants on wards.

It also aims to get more nurses to sign up to Sláintecare, a blueprint for the future of the health service.

It means more nurses working in the community and relieving the burden on hospitals.

Is there anything else in the deal?

It proposes that an ‘expert review of the nursing profession’ is set up and be completed during the current public sector pay deal.

It also says the number of advanced nurse practitioners should increase to at least 2pc of the workforce.

This will open up opportunities for promotion as their number will rise from around 240 now to more than 700.

What happens next?

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and Psychiatric Nurses Association are due to enter talks on a new nursing contract over the next three weeks.

This will decide details like the qualifications nurses will need to be eligible for the new higher salary scale.

They will also begin explaining the proposals to members and their executives will decide whether to issue a recommendation on how they should vote on the proposals.

Following that, the unions will ballot their members on the deal.

What about knock-on claims?

Other public sector unions will be assessing the proposals in detail.

The Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is likely to discuss it at a meeting which will be staged within days.

Nursing unions will sell this as the first step along a path to equal pay

Other public sector unions will examine the deal in detail