Nurses given two weeks to vote on Labour Court pay deal next month
NURSES are to be given two weeks next month to vote on whether to accept the Labour Court’s pay recommendations following a series of bruising strikes.
The executive of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation backed the recommendations subject to further negotiations.
Members of the INMO will get to vote on the deal next month between March 11 and 25. The union is also set to organise regional and workplace information sessions over the coming weeks.
Speaking on the announcement, INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the recommendations were not the end point, but were very helpful to nurses.
‘These proposals make important strides for safe staffing, pay parity, and achieving respect for our professions. They are not the end point, however, and show the way for all grades in nursing and midwifery to get to fair pay levels,’ she said.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha encouraged all INMO members to attend information sessions over the next few weeks.
The union had been striking over pay and staff retention. It called off a three-day strike this week after the Labour Court made its recommendations on Monday. The suspension sparked relief amongst patients who were facing delays because of cancelled appointments. The first strike day saw 13,000 outpatient appointments, such as X-rays and lab tests, postponed, along with 2,000 surgeries.
The Irish Daily Mail revealed, ahead of the strike, how nurses are already due to receive pay increases of up to 25% over two years, worth more than €7,000 in some cases.
This figure is before overtime, allowances and premium payments are included. The INMO said the proposed deal includes the implementation of the Safe Staffing Framework, which will be funded for the next three years.
Separately, new entrants will move up pay grades after 16 weeks, to €32,171. There will also be higher pay scales for current staff nurses and midwives as well as a 20% increase to location and qualification allowance rates.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said the pay deal negotiated with the INMO and the Psychiatric Nurses Association would cost the State €35million in a full year.
The Labour Court recommendation laid out four different areas of productivity savings that will make it possible to fund the pay increases.
One of the areas of potential savings would come from the reduction of the use of agency nursing staff. In 2018, the total cost of agency staff to the HSE was €114million.