Talks with nurses and doctors to test State’s new pay strategy

The Government’s revised strategy for dealing with public service pay will be tested by how it handles negotiations with both nurses and doctors.

Both groups have warned of potential industrial action which could cause havoc in a health service already under serious pressure.

The Government's policy is that all issues regarding remuneration have to be addressed as part of the new Public Service Pay Commission which will feed into talks on a successor to the existing Lansdowne Road accord. It is envisaged that such negotiations will commence in early summer and be finalised in advance of the budget next October.

However Government strategy on pay has already had to be reworked once already after it agreed to a Labour Court recommendation for a €50 million pay deal for gardaí to avoid a controversial strike last November.

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Ultimately, it cost the Government a further €120 million to address the outrage of other unions at the special Garda deal by accelerating by several months the payment of a €1,000 increase due next autumn.

Nurses voted several weeks ago for industrial action including work stoppages in a bid to force the Government to improve recruitment and retention of staff in the health service.

Financial incentives

The Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation has argued in favour of financial incentives to encourage those employed in public hospitals to remain and to encourage those abroad to return to Ireland.

Talks have been under way on this issue for a number of weeks and are likely to reach a conclusion by later this week.

The Government has put forward a funded workforce plan for nursing, including a commitment for about 1,200 posts this year, not all of which would be financed by converting existing agency personnel.

Unions tabled proposals late last week which would have involved the provision of new allowances and regrading of staff. It is understood this alarmed the management side which feared it could cost more than the Garda deal and leave open the possibility of upsetting the new revised pay strategy.

The Government has insisted that remuneration has to be addressed as part of the new pay commission. However it is understood the commission is of the view that it is not an adjudicating body and claims of labour market difficulties in specific sectors have to be backed by both unions and employers.

In the case of nursing, the Government will now formally acknowledge that there is a recruitment and retention problem as already contended by unions. This paves the way for the commission to examine specifically this area and holds out the prospect for a special pay proposal for nurses next year.