John Gormley
Ceist:31 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the contingency plans, if any, his Department has in the event of an all-out strike by nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18261/99]
Written Answers. - Nursing Staff.
Joe Higgins
Ceist:40 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Health and Children the state of affairs pertaining to the question of nurses' pay. [18190/99]
Ivor Callely
Ceist:98 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health and Children the developments regarding the threatened nurses' strike; the negotiation procedures to date; the alternatives available to review the nurses' demands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18400/99]
Ivor Callely
Ceist:99 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health and Children the issues which have led to industrial action by nurses; if he will outline the Labour Court considerations and deliberations on these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18401/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 31, 40, 98 and 99 together.
In February 1999, the Labour Court recommended significant improvements in existing allowances for nurses working in specialised areas and who hold special qualifications. The court also accepted that there are grounds for improvements in the pay of ward sisters and higher grades to reflect the new roles proposed for those grades in the Report of the Commission on Nursing. It recommended that the parties enter into immediate discussions on implementation of that report, with those discussions to be completed by 1 May 1999, at which stage the parties were to report back to the court.
I announced on 10 February that the Government was prepared to accept those Labour Court recommendations. Discussions between the HSEA and the nursing unions began on 16 February and an intensive programme of talks was agreed. Difficulties arose when the direct discussions got under way on 25 February 1999 and the Labour Court decided to appoint a chairman to preside over the negotiations.
Intensive discussions between the parties concluded at the end of March. While progress was made on the new roles envisaged for ward sisters and higher grades, there was no agreement on the pay issues. The chairman of the talks reported back to the Labour Court which met the parties again on 29 and 30 April 1999. In view of the complexity of the issues that have been referred back to it, the Labour Court arranged to meet the parties separately. The court met the health service employers on Thursday, 20 May and again in July and met the nursing unions on Tuesday 25 May.
As the Deputies will be aware, the Labour Court finding of 31 August 1999 rejected by nurses includes among other elements: (i) increases of 10 per cent for ward sister and other higher grades, (b) significant improvements in annual leave, an extra three days for staff nurses and an extra four days for promotional grades, (c) a lump sum of £1,250 for all nurses, contingent upon acceptance of the recommendation.
When the latest Labour Court finding is implemented, the maximum salary of ward sisters will have increased by over 37 per cent inclusive of general and special increases from £20,023 before the 1997 settlement. The maximum pay of staff nurses has increased over the same period by almost 26 per cent. Many staff nurses and a significant number of ward sisters also stand to benefit from substantial increases in location/specialist qualification allowances recommended by the court in February 1999.
The Labour Court's finding represented the culmination of a lengthy negotiating process on nurses' pay and conditions that has taken four years to complete. The court itself acknowledged that, over the past two years, nurses have justifiably improved their position not just financially but in terms of gaining recognition for the enhanced role of the profession.
The ongoing cost of the salary increases, enhanced annual leave and allowances rejected by nurses is in the region of £60 million. This, on top of the 1997 nurses' pay settlement which cost £85 million and other improvements in incremental credit and overtime already conceded, would result in an increased pay bill of over £150 million annually. The total additional cost in 1999 would be over £100 million because of the non-recurring cost of lump sums of £1,250 for each nurse and retrospection on allowances.
I am glad to have this opportunity to reiterate that the Government is committed to paying the full terms of the Labour Court finding and as far as the Government is concerned that offer remains on the table. However, there is no possibility of improving upon the term of the Labour Court finding. The Government remains fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Nursing, which are designed to tackle the underlying problem within the profession and develop nursing as a key profession within the health services.
Once again, I would ask all nurses to think carefully before voting for strike action. Not only is such action in direct breach of the industrial peace clause in Partnership 2000, it also endangers the entire national partnership approach, which has served the country so well. However, if nurses vote for industrial action, there is no avenue open to me to avert such action. All avenues have in fact been exhausted – in 1997 the Labour Court intervened to avert industrial action but on this occasion, nurses have rejected the Labour Court finding. There is nowhere else to go. The unfortunate fact is that if nurses vote for industrial action, an all-out strike beginning on 19 October is inevitable.
No experience regarding the full implications of a national nurses' strike is available. The full range of health services is likely to be affected – including acute hospital services, community services such as nursing in the home, geriatric and long-stay hospital care. The extent to which the effects could be minimised will depend on agreement regarding the nature and extent of emergency cover.
The Health Service Employers Agency is meeting with the alliance of nursing unions today to discuss the broad approach to ensuring that emergency and essential services will be maintained for the duration of the threatened strike. Management in all health agencies are currently drawing up detailed contingency plans for their own organisations. These will continue to be refined on the basis of discussions which will be held with local strike committees.
My Department is in direct contact with all the affected agencies and is identifying in association with the HSEA all the high risk areas within the health service. Eight regional centres are being established to provide an ongoing flow of information on a daily basis to the Department in relation to service disruption, and to deal with communications with patients, impending patients and their families. A co-ordinated media information campaign in relation to the impact of the strike on the provision of services is being prepared.
Last week, the Taoiseach outlined a credible alternative to confrontation and a way forward that will provide a better outcome for us all. That alternative is renewal of our commitment at national level to social partnership and a series of practical steps to a new partnership agreement. That national position must be combined with an approach to public service pay which is imaginative in ensuring that the income of public servants should more closely reflect their performance and not be based on so called traditional relativities. This is the approach to public service pay that the Taoiseach spelt out to the social partners in Dublin Castle in July 1998. Work on developing that approach has proceeded since then. That work must now be brought to a conclusion. This is the context within which the aims and aspirations of public servants, including nurses, can best be met.