THE main nursing union appeared optimistic last night about the outcome of the ballot on the £80 million package being offered by the Government. The result will be known tomorrow afternoon.
A spokesman for the Irish, Nurses Organisation, which has 19,500 members eligible to vote, said last night it believed the result would be close. However, a vote for acceptance "appears more likely as the days pass", he said. Today is the final day of balloting.
"We believe it will be close, but it is looking more likely that it will be carried," said the spokesman.
Mr Gerard Barry, chief executive of the Health Services Employers Union, said last night the health service had been "winding down" over the past few days but not to the same extent as two weeks ago before the planned strike of February 10th.
"If the result goes against us, we will not be left with a lot of time," he explained.
Meanwhile the alliance of trade unions representing the State's 26,000 nurses yesterday welcomed the Government's approval of the terms of reference for a nurses commission.
"The terms of reference will mean a genuine and far reaching investigation into the nurses' role and value in our fast changing health services," the alliance said in a statement.
Meanwhile, four out of five junior doctors have voted to accept a new agreement on conditions of service. The agreement provided for payment for unrostered hours, a salary increase and funding and flexible rosters to assist doctors in further education and training.
According to the IMO, votes were counted yesterday and an overwhelming majority of the 2,500 NCHDs, non consultant hospital doctors, had voted to accept the new agreement, which was negotiated with the Department of Health over the past two years.
Under the agreement, NCHDs will receive "appropriate" payment for unrostered hours worked. Salaries will be increased by £700 from July 1st, 1996, and a further £500 from July 1st this year. They will receive additional payment for working on Sundays and will be paid for the unrostered hours they worked in 1996.
The Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, welcomed the acceptance of the agreement last night which he said demonstrated the extent to which difficulties could be overcome within the parameters of the PCW given commitment to finding a solution.
Under the agreement, funding has been made available to assist with the costs of NCHDs' post graduate education. Training and rosters will be as flexible as possible to allow them to attend approved courses.
The chairman of the IMO NCHD committee, Dr Dermot Power, said that although the agreement represented some gains, there were significant issues that needed to be tackled. "The IMO will continue to lobby to have NCHDs included in working time legislation and address the serious problems related to the extensive hours junior doctors are forced to work" he said.