NEW talks aimed at resolving the long-running nurses' pay dispute will start on Monday. This follows the overwhelming rejection by the nurses of the Government's £20 million package this week and a further warning of industrial action.
The Nurses' Alliance (group of unions) yesterday agreed to the request of the chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission Mr Kieran Mulvey, to defer the planned ballot on industrial action to allow negotiations to proceed. A deadline for the conclusion of negotiations has been set for March 22nd.
On Thursday, the State's 26,000 nurses voted by 99 per cent to reject the Government package. They made it clear that they considered the offer to be entirely unsatisfactory and warned that there would have to be a much more substantial offer before there was another ballot.
The Government's initial offer was £10 million. Later it was increased to £20 million, but this figure still fell far short of what the unions were looking for. Management says the cost of paying staff nurses £20,500 at the top of the scale, after 15 years service, plus giving significant increases to supervisory management grades, would be £35 million.
The negotiations will cover the pay structure, differentials, temporary staff, early retirement, education and training, the management agenda for change and the position of the chief nursing officer.
Speaking after yesterday's meeting between the unions and employers at the Local Government Staff Negotiations Board, Mr Peter McLoone, of IMPACT, said the unions had made it clear that if the forthcoming talks were to avoid industrial action, management would have to address the genuine concerns of nurses and give an indication of a substantial improvement in the offer.
"The overwhelming dissatisfaction of nurses, expressed in this week's ballot, delivered a strong message to all of us at the negotiating table," he said.
Monday's negotiations will be facilitated by Mr Raymond McGee and Mr Liam Kelly of the Labour Relations Commission.
Earlier yesterday the Nurses' Alliance met senior officials of the ICTU. After the meeting, the assistant general secretary of ICTU, Mr Kevin Duffy, said congress fully supported the nurses' unions in seeking to obtain a revised pay structure "which more fairly reflects the changing range of duties and responsibilities of nurses".