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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Jul 1969

Vol. 241 No. 6

Private Notice Question. - Medical Laboratory Services Dispute.

First of all, I should like to congratulate the Chair, before embarking on my Private Notice Question, on the commendable manner with which he despatched the business of the House on today's Order Paper. My question is:

To ask the Minister for Health if, having regard to the deterioration in medical laboratory services in Dublin hospitals consequent on the extension of the dispute as from next Monday involving medical laboratory technologists, he will now personally investigate the position and receive a deputation as requested by the Medical Laboratory Technologists Association and state what special steps will be taken to avoid risk or injury to people requiring medical laboratory services.

I received this morning a deputation consisting of representatives of the Workers' Union of Ireland and of the Medical Laboratory Technologists' Association, which is affiliated to that union.

I stressed my very serious concern about the risk to life which would result from the continuance of the present strike of technicians in certain hospitals and from the threatened extension of the strike to other hospitals and institutions from Monday next.

Following a very full exchange of views, I asked the union and the association to accept a suggestion which I made to them. The suggestion was that the technicians would resume normal services in the hospitals immediately; that they would accept the Labour Court recommendations as an interim settlement; and that the entire question of a job analysis and assessment of the services of the grades concerned would be examined urgently under the auspices of the Labour Court by an arbitrator, to be agreed, who would be assisted by competent assessors, on the basis of agreed terms of reference, the arbitrator's findings to take full account of all the circumstances, including the date on which the claim was made in 1968.

I am glad to be able to inform the House that my suggestion has been accepted by the union and the association and that work will be resumed shortly.

We are all delighted to hear it.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.5 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 22nd July, 1969.

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