Nurses' Union Ends Industrial Action

Government And Unions Accept Arbitration

The Irish Nurses Organisation formally announced the end of their industrial action last week after a ballot of its members in response to the recommendations of the National Implementation Body (NIB).

The NIB recommendations provide for the introduction of a 37 1/2-hour working week from June 1st, next year and the formation of a Commission to recommend how and when a 35-hour week should be fully introduced for nurses and midwives. 

The result of the ballot showed 54% in favour of accepting the recommendations and 46% against in a ballot which saw 70% of the unions' members voting.

Liam Doran, the General Secretary of the Irish Nurses Organisation said the result allowed the campaign for a 35-hour week and fair recognition for nurses and midwives enter a new procedural phase.  He said that the INO would fight as hard through those procedures as it has done in the successful protest campaign which members have supported over the past seven weeks.

"I would like to pay tribute to the many nurses and midwives in this country who over the past seven weeks have brought their case to the public in a dignified and peaceful manner and have not posed any risk to their patients. 

"I fully realise that many of our members are disappointed that their goals have not yet been fully achieved but I call on the other parties to this dispute to now play their part in ensuring that nurses and midwives can at last have confidence in a procedure that will be fair to them. 

"It is the unity displayed by INO members that has brought us this far and it is that same unity which will underscore our ability to make procedures work for us."

The work to rule by the INO officially ended last Thursday morning - the day of the General Election.

"We wish to thank the general public and particularly the thousands of patients in our public hospitals who demonstrated their support for nurses and midwives throughout this campaign," concluded Mr .Doran.

The Health Services Executive also welcomed the decision, Professor Brendan Drumm, it's CEO saying that, "It has been a challenging time and thousands of staff have gone the extra mile to make sure that disruption to patients, clients and their families was minimised during the dispute.

"The way forward agreed with the nursing unions is fair and balanced. It gives us a solid platform upon which to expand and enhance the role of nurses and midwives during the coming years without reducing services to patients."

The other union involved in the dispute, the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has also balloted its members but the results will not be known until June 5th but union officials have suggested that it would not be worthwhile continuing industrial action on their own.