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IRELAND’S NURSES AND midwives have voted to accept proposals offered by the government aimed at resolving their industrial dispute earlier this year.
Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) voted 62% in favour of accepting the proposals.
This means an end to any potential further strike action. Nurses and midwives took to the picket lines for three days of strike action in January and February of this year in the dispute over pay and conditions.
Nurses had argued that ongoing issues have led to a recruitment and retention crisis in the sector.
The action had a disruptive effect on hospitals and clinics, putting a lot of pressure on the government to address nurses’ concerns.
The INMO said that the proposals offered include such measures as:
Commenting on the ballot result, INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said:
“INMO nurses and midwives fought hard for patient safety and staffing in a determined, controlled and collective manner. We are extremely proud of the safe, patient-focused strike organised by our strike committees.
The government have committed to full implementation of these proposals. We now seek an immediate meeting with them to ensure this happens without delay.
Ní Sheaghada also thanked the public and anyone who had supported and helped to resolve the dispute.
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The government have fobbed them off again. Most of these recommendations will never be put in place. It’s an absolute whitewash.
I cant imagine what made them vote yes .the majority will see no real benefit. Hopefully the PNA members will reject this deal .
@Brendan Harlowe: have the PNA even been offered a deal?
This vote was fixed 100%. There is no chance 62% said yes. Cancel all membership of INMO straight away is what I say. Disgraceful
Another sell out,the INMO got promises on patients safety few years ago and the situation has got worse, it was all the money and the patient safety was used for public support, they will never get public support again.
Phil states that “INMO staff fought hard for patient safety and staffing” but yet when you look at the 6 points achieved 3 concern pay directly, 1 concerns promotion (pay), 1 concerns training and 1 concerns a commitment to staffing for dependent patients. When all is said and done this was about pay. I don’t see Phil’s supposed patient safety and queue reduction demands being met by these proposals. Will nurses be less stressed, less overworked, no longer work in 3rd world conditions as a result of these proposals? If not then this has been a catastrophic failure and the INMO have let their members down badly.
@GrumpyAulFella: it wasn’t the inmo executive that voted in favour of this. It was 62% of all inmo members.
@Pat O Brien: yeah but it was sold to them by the union leaders. Members weren’t negotiating with govt, the union was. False hope, a “recommendation” from their leaders. Members have been sold a pup here.
@GrumpyAulFella: if they didn’t want it they should have voted no. Simple as.
@GrumpyAulFella: Can you not give some credit to the members that they knew what they were voting for. Nurses are well educated and aren’t imbeciles.
@Paddy J: exactly.
@Pat O Brien: yeah I agree Pat. They voted for the money but if they seriously think that these proposals are going to deliver on the union promises to resolve working conditions and shorten patient queues then they are badly mistaken. This time next year we will have the by now annual strike threat from the IMNO about “conditions” more money will be thrown at it and around we go again. Unions exist because of IR problems. It’s in their interests not to tackle the real problems.
@GrumpyAulFella: it’s not union promises…. its government promises. If the promises are not delivered then it is the fault of government not the inmo.
@Pat O Brien: INMO told members and public that they were striking for better conditions and patient welfare. The rest of us knew it was about money. The INMO strike a deal with Govt and INMO recommend it to members saying it gives them what they want. The INMO have sold out their members and the public. Check out the comments on the INMO. FB page. Members are leaving in their droves.
Discusted…..This has to be a fix.
Please do not add any layers of management out of this deal.
@John Flood: that’s exactly what’s going to happen unfortunately. No improvement in service, no increase in front line staff and a larger wage bill for the taxpayer to pay. At least it shows that it was all about the money and not patient safety.
Find this very hard to believe, absolutely raging.
So now they have put themselves on a waiting.
@Greedylocks: list
@Greedylocks: exactly…
Most will never see the benefits despite having lost three days pay to get there
@Paul Murphy: nurses sold down the rivet by the INTO. No pay parity. Just a short term solution that provides small increases. Shame….
@Paul Murphy: nurses sold down the river by the INTO. No pay parity. Just a short term solution that provides small increases. Shame….
@John Phelan: According to the article a substantial majority of 62% of the members voted in favour of it. I’m sure if the members felt they were sold down the river they would have voted it down.
@John Phelan: You could be right about the nurses, but I doubt the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation had anything to do with it.
62% of nurses said yes. I can’t see everyone’s problem.
Unfortunately it wasn’t 62% of all it’s nurse members. I believe nurses were turned away from the ballot box because they had read the terms themselves and hadn’t attended the inmo info sessions where the yes vote was promoted. Some nurses have posted that they even felt pressured at the box to vote yes by the reps.
@Robert Moore: Not the first time I’ve heard that point made today….I feel there was a credible level of coercion and black mail.
Fix fix fix
What about pay parity and don’t forget that 14000 of our members will not benefit from this agreement at all…. sold a pup…promises ,promises we lost a great opportunity here by caving in and also disastrous decisions by the leaders of the union who openly admitted that they received their training from Liam Doran…enough said..
A lot of sore losers here this evening
Right wing government doesn’t care it’s all about cuckoo funds and vulture funds
have your say