Unions fear curbs could cost 20,000 health sector jobs

TRADE UNIONS believe that up to 20,000 posts in the health sector could be left vacant within the next 18 months as a result of new employment restrictions introduced by the Government and the Health Service Executive.

Irish Nurses’ Organisation general secretary Liam Doran said last night that this level of vacancies could be generated by a strict reading of the new employment controls.

He said he had argued at a meeting of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions national executive yesterday that this issue would have to be addressed as part of the new social partnership talks currently under way with the Government.

This level of vacancies could “dismantle whole chunks of the health service which would have to close”.

Mr Doran said that about 14,000 temporary staff could be affected if their contracts were not renewed.

He said that there were about 2,000 retirements in the health service annually and this number could be higher this year.

However, the HSE’s director of human resources, Seán McGrath, last night said that the figure of 20,000 vacancies was “very much wide of the mark”.

He said there were 14,000 temporary posts overall in the health service and that there was no question of all of these being let go. Many people in those posts had contracts of fixed duration or fixed purpose or were service related.

Further talks between the trade unions and the Government on a new national recovery programme are expected to take place today.

Plans for talks last night were changed after a meeting of the Cabinet ran late.

It is understood the parties are looking at the possibility of having a draft document agreed by the end of the week in advance of next Tuesday’s budget.

Some union sources indicated that while the Government had been sympathetic to a number of the provisions of the 10-point plan proposed by the unions as a blueprint for national recovery, it had argued that taxation was an issue exclusively for the Cabinet.

Unions have sought the introduction of a higher 48 per cent band and a new property tax on second homes.

Some sources said that any draft agreement was expected to be based on the recent report drawn up by the National Economic and Social Council and have the protection of employment as one of its main objectives.

Trade unions have sought that the Government should extend the deadline for bringing the deficit in the public finances back into line with EU rules.

The Government has already indicated that it is willing to borrow more this year than the 9.5 per cent of GDP limit which it had earlier set for itself.

This was also a key element in the proposals drawn up by the Ictu.