Benefits secured by nurses’ union may be extended to other hospital staff

Benefits secured by nurses represented by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) as part of a recent deal aimed at averting planned strikes in hospitals may be extended to other staff.

In an agreement reached Thursday night, the HSE said it would enter into talks with other trade unions in relation to extending the application of the proposals set out in the accord with the INMO several weeks ago.

Under these proposals nurses working in emergency departments were to receive an additional two days leave in 2016 and 2017 in lieu of missed meal breaks.

In addition, a €1,500 educational bursary was to be put in place for personnel who stayed in post for one year. Additional promotional positions were also to be established.

The trade union Siptu had subsequently sought to have the measures agreed with the INMO applied to its members working in hospital emergency departments.

The undertaking by the HSE to establish a process to examine these issues was set out following talks on Thursday at the Workplace Relations Commission involving Siptu, Impact and the Irish Medical Organisation.

One of the other key element of the deal agreed last month with the INMO was the establishment of regular meetings between its representatives and senior management in hospitals locally and in hospital groups to oversee the implementation of measures to tackle overcrowding in emergency departments.

However the implementation of this part of the agreement led to an inter-union row breaking out last week.

The Irish Times reported on Saturday that the HSE last week told other groups such as Siptu, which also represents nurses, and the Irish Medical Organisation that they could attend these meetings. However, when Siptu representatives arrived for talks at the Ireland East hospital group, which includes the Mater and St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin and at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, the INMO objected and the meetings were aborted.

On Friday last, the HSE reversed its position and said the meetings would remain exclusively between management and the INMO.

Siptu divisional organiser Paul Bell said his union's members were being "victimised and marginalised" as a result.

Following the talks at the Workplace Relations Commission on Thursday additional parallel meeting will be held in hospitals and hospital groups involving management and other trade unions.