IMO to back Croke Park deal

The Irish Medical Organisation today announced it would accept the proposed Croke Park agreement on public sector pay and reform.

The organisations decision to support the deal follows meetings of its consultant, public health doctors, non consultant hospital doctors and general practitioners committees. The IMO has 6,700 members.

Under the deal, which was agreed in March, the Government has given a commitment that there will be no further cuts in public sector pay until 2014 at least.

The unions have agreed to implement extensive reforms in work practices and conditions of employment throughout the entire public service. The deal does not contain specific guarantees on reversing pay cuts that were put in place in the budget last December.

However, there will be a review of public sector pay in spring of next year and in each subsequent year. These will take account of “sustainable” savings generated as a result of the implementation of the reform programme, and determine whether there is any scope for the reimbursement of pay cuts.

The IMO said all committees had returned a result in favour of acceptance of the deal.

"The Irish Medical Organistion will be supporting acceptance of the Public Service Agreement at the Public Service Committee of Congress," it said in a statement.

The new general secretary of Impact, the State's largest public sector union, said last night the agreement did not achieve everything the unions had sought but was the best that could be expected in the current climate.