HSE 'expects' non-public sector pay cuts

LABOUR PARTY leader Eamon Gilmore has said he believes Government has accepted that the Health Service Executive (HSE) will cut the pay of some workers who are not public servants.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen wrote to Mr Gilmore at the end of last month saying the HSE had incorrectly anticipated that pay reductions for public servants would automatically apply to its grant-aided voluntary agencies.

However, Mr Cowen went on to say it was now appropriate for the agencies to “take appropriate measures” to ensure the same level of service was provided despite reductions in their funding.

“It is the responsibility of each individual employer to decide exactly what mix of actions should be taken to achieve this goal, to take appropriate legal and other advice, to consult and inform its employees/trade unions as necessary and to manage the HR and industrial relations implications of its decisions,” he said in his letter to Mr Gilmore, dated January 29th.

Mr Gilmore said “roundabout” language had been used in the letter, but it could be translated to mean that “the HSE expects these agencies to cut the pay”.

The Labour leader said he feared pay cuts in the public sector were being used to drive down pay in the voluntary sector.

A spokeswoman for the HSE yesterday said the legislation reducing public servants pay did not apply to grant-aided voluntary agency workers, but said she would not comment any further about the budgets of the agencies in advance of the publication of the HSE service plan.

In the Dáil last week Mr Cowen said it was a matter for the funded bodies to decide how they would maintain a service with the reduced allocations they were receiving.

If that involved taking actions that required a change to existing arrangements, then they should consult with and inform their employees or trade unions.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said at the end of January that the HSE had, in error, issued the circular saying the pay of workers who were not public servants should be cut. “The HSE has advised that this circular was sent in error and that Prof Drumm has in fact issued a clarification to those people in this regard,” Ms Coughlan added.