The Nursing Alliance is to meet on Wednesday to discuss its attitude towards the Labour Court's recommendation on nurses' pay. The court is expected to issue its recommendation tomorrow.
According to the Health Service Employers Agency, it could cost the Government up to £140 million a year to meet the demands made by the four unions comprising the alliance. Previous Labour Court awards to nurses over the past two years have cost the Exchequer more than £125 million to date. A recent agreement on new overtime structures is expected to cost a further £66 million a year.
However, it will be difficult for the court to meet nurses' outstanding aspirations and keep within the Government's public service pay guidelines. The chairman of the alliance, Mr Liam Doran, confirmed yesterday that nursing unions already had plans to hold meetings of members and ballots on the recommendation. Strike ballot mandates will be sought simultaneously in the event of its rejection.
The ballots begin next week and, in the case of his own union, the Irish Nurses Organisation, will conclude on September 21st. The other three unions, SIPTU, the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland and Impact are making similar arrangements. If the terms are rejected by the State's 27,500 nurses industrial action could take place in October.
The relevant executive bodies in the four unions comprising the Nursing Alliance will meet separately tomorrow night or Wednesday morning to determine their attitudes towards the recommendation. They are expected to agree a joint approach at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Until then it is not clear whether they will recommend acceptance or rejection of the Labour Court proposals.
Other public service unions will be studying the Labour Court recommendation on the nurses and the outcome of the nurses' ballot closely.
When the teachers concluded their agreement with the Government on the 2 per cent local bargaining clause of Partnership 2000 last month, the INTO general secretary, Mr Joe O'Toole, announced that any breach of public service pay guidelines in awards to the nurses would lead to catch-up claims by his own members.