LRC issues recommendations in doctors' dispute

The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) has issued recommendations today aimed at resolving the nine-week old public health doctors' strike.

The recommendations do not end the dispute but provide a plan acceptable to doctors and employers for resolving the key issues at the heart of the strike.

Both sides have agreed to the LRC plan establishing a process for addressing the doctors' claims. These talks will start this evening before an independent adjudication panel chaired by Mr Gerard Durkin SC.

Mr Durkin will examine the doctors' pay claims under local bargaining. This board will also examine the implementation of the 2000 Brennan review of public health medicine that is also sought by doctors.

Both sides will work with the adjudicator who will report to them by September 30th. The Irish Medical Organisation-represented public health doctors do not have to end their strike to work with the adjudicator.

If the adjudication panel report is acceptable to both sides, the second strand of the LRC recommendations suggests the strike be called off and the IMO and the Health Service Employers' Agency (HSEA) work to produce an interim structure for out-of-hours work.

Public health doctors have been working out-of-hours for years on a goodwill basis for no extra pay. They claim proposed changes in the structure of the public health service would include rostering public health specialists to work out-of-hours.

The LRC has proposed that the public health doctors' claim, for pay parity with hospital consultants will be dealt with by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration.

This afternoon, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) confirmed it would be attending this evening's meeting with the adjudicator. A spokeswoman for the union said it was too early to say if this plan would lead to an end to the strike before September 30th.

Mr Kieran Mulvey chief executive of the LRC, chaired the talks between the IMO, the Health Service Employers' Agency (HSEA) and the Department of Health.

He said: "The Commission hopes that these proposals will lead to an early return to normal working and an end to this long and difficult dispute".

Some 300 public health doctors - who work to prevent and monitor the spread of infectious disease - have been on strike since April 14th over pay and conditions.