Health cuts breach Sustaining Progress, say unions

Unions representing medical staff have accused health employers of breaching the terms of Sustaining Progress by requesting 600 job cuts in the Health Service Plan for 2005 which was published yesterday.

The accusation followed a meeting between the main health employees unions and employers today in which the unions expressed their anger that the proposed job cuts were included in the plan without consultation.

Liam Doran, Irish Nurses Organisation general secretary, tabled specific questions relating to the job cuts within the plan and also how the prioritisation of A&E and Intellectual Disability Services would affect other services, on behalf of all health unions.

In the absence of what the health unions considered a satisfactory response the unions have accused the employers of breaching Sustaining Progress.

Under the industrial relations machinery the High Level Group will be convened over the next few days. This includes officials from the Department of Health and the Department of Fiancee.

If the employers are found to have breached the terms of the agreement they are no longer protected by the industrial peace clause of sustaining progress and the unions would be entitled to industrial action without penalty.

Until the High Level Group meets the unions have asked that no job losses take place. "The meeting was most unsatisfactory with no answers being forthcoming on key issues arising from the service plan", said Mr Doran.

"This whole episode represents a complete breach of the current national social agreement and is totally at variance with the requirements for full consultation and agreement before any changes are made.

Health Service unions are united in demanding that there should be no job losses, in the health service but, instead, there should be agreement on the need to address the current difficulties of the health service and that, to do this, additional frontline staff will actually be required."