HEALTH: The nurses' judgment on the benchmarking report recommendations will be decided at the end of September when the Irish Nurses' Organisation holds a delegate conference on the issue.
The INO is the biggest of the four nursing unions - the others are SIPTU, IMPACT and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association of Ireland. In the meantime, the nursing unions are to ask the Minister for Finance for all the evidence on which the Benchmarking Body's findings were based.
"Considerable disappointment" was expressed in a statement by the Nursing Alliance (INO, SIPTU and the PNAI) yesterday. "It remains the collective firm belief that the recommendations do not reflect the ever-changing work environment experienced by all grades of nurse and midwife and will not address the severe recruitment and retention issue, facing nursing and midwifery.
"Against this background and in the context of the apparent absolute nature of the Benchmarking Body's recommendations the alliance has agreed to write immediately to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy TD, seeking full disclosure of all the evidence upon which the findings are based.
"The Nursing Alliance feels that the benchmarking process should be accountable, and its recommendations should be justified and open to verification by the unions representing the grades affected," it added.
The measured response of the alliance was echoed by Ms Ger Moriarty, branch secretary of SIPTU's health professionals branch. Expressing disappointment at the 8 per cent recommended rise for staff nurses, she said this had to be looked at in the context of the whole document.
It also had to be looked at in the context of social and economic developments since the Body was set up.
SIPTU is to start the consultation process with its nursing members next week. The INO is to hold consultation meetings with its members over the next two to three weeks.
The interest of health employers will be focused on the INO delegate conference on September 30th to consider the organisation's reaction to the proposals.
At its annual conference in May the INO leaders promised industrial action if benchmarking delivered less than 30 per cent. In particular, nurses wanted the gap between themselves and paramedics (physiotherapists and speech and language therapists) eliminated. Instead, yesterday's recommendations widen the gap.
Whether nurses will hold to the views expressed in May remains unclear.
Observers expect that if there is to be industrial action it is likely to take the form of a work-to-rule rather than a strike.
The INO has been perfecting the work-to-rule technique in recent years. The most recent example was this year's A&E dispute which proved highly successful for the INO.
In May its general secretary, Mr Liam Doran, said industrial action, if taken, would be conducted "with the least pain to us and the most pain to the employers".