Nurses in protests at three hospitals

THE IRISH Nurses Organisation (INO) yesterday staged lunchtime protests at three hospitals in the northeast in a dispute over working hours.

Members of the INO protested from 1pm to 1.30pm at the Louth County Hospital, Dundalk; Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda; and Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan. The INO says management has failed to implement the nationally agreed 37.5-hour working week for all nurses and midwives in the three hospitals.

An INO spokesman said 300 nurses were involved in the protests, and that there was no disruption to patient care.

INO industrial relations officer Albert Murphy said: “The failure of local and regional management to implement this entitlement is causing anger and frustration among our members. Nurses and midwives in these hospitals are looking at their colleagues in hospitals around the country who are already enjoying a shorter working week.”

In a deal that ended seven weeks of industrial action last year, the working week for nurses was to be cut to 37.5 hours by the start of June if this could be done on a cost-neutral basis and without affecting services.

The HSE said management in the Louth/Meath hospital group was committed to the 37.5-hour week, and a “significant” amount of work had been done on it.

A cut in the working week has now been agreed for 21,000 nurses, according to Department of Health figures this month.