Members of a number of unions across the healthcare sector are currently being balloted on proposals put forward by the HSE, aimed at preventing industrial action.
Members of FÓRSA, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Connect, Unite the Union, and the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA), were set to begin a work-to-rule action on Monday, 31 March.
However, the industrial action was stood down following 22 hours of engagement between union negotiators and the HSE in the Workplace Relations Commission.
A spokesperson for Connect, said that “while progress has been made, there is still a body of work to be done on the commitments made on delivering direct employment”.
Members are now being balloted on whether to accept the proposals put forward by the HSE – the specifics of which have not been revealed at time of going to print.
HSE CEO, Bernard Gloster, said that the HSE was “very pleased" that the threat of disruption had been lifted, stating "our commitment to all of our workforce and all representative bodies is reflected in the agreement”.
The work-to-rule would have affected all Section 38 hospitals – where employees are classed as public servants – including Mallow General.
The dispute arose over the HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy, which unions say has led to the suppression of thousands of positions across the health service. This means that once positions become vacant, there is no intention of refilling them.
Phil Ní Sheaghdha, General Secretary of the INMO, said that the measures have caused the challenges around safe staffing to “intensify for nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers over the last eighteen months”.
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