Junior doctors to vote on deal aimed at addressing working hours and payroll issues

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) is to ballot its junior doctor members over the coming weeks on a deal it says will address longstanding issues over working hours, payroll problems and study leave.

Earlier this year, non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHD) voted overwhelmingly to support a campaign of industrial action over their grievances that centre on what they said were routine breaches of the European working time directive and difficulties related to pay when they moved hospital as they regularly do.

Talks between the sides began in late August and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly signalled a willingness to address the situation, remarking that “legacy issues will be stopped … issues around working hours, working shifts of 24 hours, sometimes 36 hours … it isn’t right”.

On Monday, the IMO said that it had reached an agreement with the Department of Health and the HSE, and started the process of balloting its 7,500 NCHD members. The ballot will close at the start of next week. The IMO is recommending acceptance.

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The organisation says the deal will lead to the elimination of “unsafe and illegal hours” with employers penalised for non-compliance. It includes provision for new rostering arrangements that allow for adequate rest periods, a new centralised payroll system intended to end problems encountered by doctors moving between hospitals, better systems for recording hours worked and new arrangements with regard to study leave.

The IMO said it has received a commitment that talks on a completely new agreement for NCHDs will take place in January.

“This agreement has been hard-won, and we believe that while it represents progress in some key areas, further reform on NCHD working conditions and training must be secured in the NCHD contract negotiations which will commence in January 2023, said Dr John Cannon, chairman of the IMO’s NCHD committee.

“NCHDs are doctors in training and their work/study and life balance must be protected to ensure safety for both doctors and patients. We view this very much as a first step in changing the culture in which NCHDs are treated within the system which is bad for doctors, bad for patients and leading to ever-increasing levels of emigration.”