Health and social care professionals delay industrial action

Industrial action by around 5,000 health and social care professionals working in primary care due to start on Monday has been deferred after talks between the HSE and the trade union Fórsa at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The employees, including social workers, speech and language therapists and physiotherapists, had voted by a margin of around nine to one to take action as part of a long-running dispute in relation to career progression.

The healthcare professionals involved either work for the HSE itself or voluntary organisations providing services on its behalf and sought improvements to the career pathways open to them to reach higher grades.

The union had said the initial stage of the action due to start next week was likely to include the withdrawal of co-operation with third level student placements and education, as well as withdrawal of engagement across change programmes being progressed within the HSE with further escalations expected to follow.

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The Department of Health had cautioned the dispute was likely to impact on patients.

After talks in recent days at the WRC, however, the two sides have agreed time frames for additional negotiations for when an agreement will be reached.

In a document agreed by the two sides, the HSE acknowledges its previous commitment to assess the situation in its own workplaces, identity vacancies and set out appropriate career pathways and reaching a deal on these by October 4th.

In relation social workers, the sides agreed to meet during October and to a six week timetable for resolving outstanding issues in relation to a range of eight groups of professionals working for a range of voluntary organisations.

[ HSE dieticians, therapists and social workers vote for industrial action ]

In a memo sent to members, the unions says the interim agreement represents “sufficient progress” to warrant suspending the industrial action.

Separately, the union’s national secretary, Linda Kelly, said: “Fórsa’s HSCP members have worked hard in recent months to take on this dispute. While there’s a still a road to travel, the strength of the recent ballot and the resolve demonstrated by our elected representatives puts us in a good position to achieve a positive outcome.”