The directing committee of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) are set to convene on Friday to discuss the possibility of industrial action following unsuccessful negotiations with the Workplace Relations Commission on Thursday. The union expressed disappointment that their concerns surrounding staffing levels were disregarded.
In June, a significant number of the union’s members voted in favour of industrial action to protest the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) neglect in filling approximately 700 jobs. Many of these vacancies were for supervisory roles in national mental health services.
The decision for industrial action was subsequently postponed following the announcement that the HSE’s hiring freeze would be lifted. However, the release of the HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy (PNS), which set out a limit on staff numbers up until 2025, quashed any hope that a considerable number of these vacancies would be filled.
This impasse persisted after Thursday’s meeting. The PNA leadership will now decide whether to continue with the planned industrial action or seek further intervention from the WRC.
Seven other health sector unions are also to contemplate their next course of action in upcoming weeks. This follows a distinct meeting with the HSE on Thursday where concerns regarding future recruitment in view of the employee limit specified in the PNS were discussed.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association, Irish Medical Organisation, Fórsa, Siptu, Connect, and Unite are all believed to have reached an agreement to liaise with their executives by early September. Industrial action is seemingly unavoidable if the HSE refuses to reconsider its stance.
“The HSE is in violation of existing consultation agreements,” stated Albert Murphy, the INMO director of industrial relations, on Thursday.
The ceiling of 129,753 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) is derived from a number of 125,420 FTEs at the conclusion of last year, allowing for supplementary hiring in particular sectors. It’s reported this will in effect restrict around 2,000 positions that were open as of December 31st and could now only be filled with respect to the maximum limitation on headcount and expenditure.
Contrarily, trade unions argued that there was a significant need for more staff as the year ended. They predict the new system will lead to considerable delays, even in recruitment areas where a necessity has been previously established, such as the hiring of extra nurses for emergency departments.
Ashley Connolly, the leader of Fórsa’s health and welfare sector, openly objected to the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) lack of involvement. She highlighted that the Labour Court has categorically stated that a consultation process should precede final decision-making.
She also reported that members have expressed their inability to deliver the required services in the upcoming winter months, which is concerning.
In response, the HSE issued a statement denying any neglect of their duty to engage with unions. They claimed to have invested considerable efforts in discussions with the staff side during the recruitment freeze and emphasised that any dispute resolution arising from the halt will be contingent on finalising a comprehensive PNS.
The unions requested this conclusion of the PNS, the HSE stated, and they are gratified by its recent finalisation. The recruitment ban was implemented due to an overstep in hiring beyond financially supported levels. There’s been a net employment growth of more than 25,000 staff since the start of 2020. Following the conclusion of the PNS, the hiring freeze has now been lifted.