The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) has said it will oppose any reduction in pay and allowances to nurses and midwives.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said the union will protect its members with “industrial action if there is any attempt to impose pay cuts on its members”.
His comments come after Minister for Health Mary Harney told reporters in Dublin yesterday that Health Service Executive (HSE) staff could face pay cuts in 2010 in bid to save money.
Ms Harney said if the HSE could not identify €400 million in savings from reducing staff numbers by 6,000 in line with the McCarthy report’s recommendations, “then issues arise as to whether salary reductions will have to be contemplated”.
But Mr Doran said today: “It is frontline staff, particularly nurses and midwives, that are bearing the brunt of these staffing cuts, which amount to over 1,600 in the past 18 months, and, despite this, nurses and midwives continue to strive to deliver safe care to their patients.
“Against this background the INO will mobilise, as required, to defend the total income of our members, whether in the form of pay or allowances, while also striving to maintain safe standards of care to patients and clients”.
The Minister’s comments were also met with swift responses from other trade unions.
Both Impact, which represents administrative grades in the HSE, and Siptu have also threatened industrial action if any cuts are made to their members’ pay.