SIPTU, January 10, 2008 Nurses have been undervalued in the second
report of the Benchmarking Body, according to SIPTU’s National Nursing
Official, Louise O’Reilly who has expressed grave disappointment with
the zero percentage awards made to many nursing grades. “In our
submission to the Benchmarking Body SIPTU pointed out the ongoing
difficulties over recruitment and retention of nursing staff. We are
dismayed that the Body does not seem to have taken account of the
nature of this growing crisis in the health service. ..." Nurses

Prepare for bitter backlash,say union leaders. John Walshe & Eilis
O'Regan, Independent.ie, January 9, 2008 The Government faces the wrath
of nearly 300,000 nurses, teachers, gardai and other public servants
who won't be awarded any pay increases from the Benchmarking Body when
it reports tomorrow. The only public servants to secure special pay
increases will be small groups of seniors and specialist grades, such
as a few hundred nurse managers and 3,200 primary school principals.
... No

Eilish O'Regan, Independent.ie, January 9, 2008 A failure to deliver on
pay demands for 40,000 nurses will spark a new war of attrition with
health employers. The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and Psychiatric
Nurses Association (PNA) may have played their strongest card when they
launched their ill-fated work-to-rule and work stoppages last year -
but they are not without more options for protest. Instead of a
national protest, it is likely the nurses would concentrate on some
form of disruptive action at local hospital level, in response to
incidents of overcrowding or understaffing. ... Rejection

Eilish O'Regan & Anne Marie Walsh, Independent.ie, January 8, 2008
Legal action could hit the benchmarking body if it fails to deliver pay
increases of more than e6,000 a year for the country's 40,000 nurses,
it emerged last night. The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) delivered
the warning in the wake of a landmark Labour Court sex discrimination
ruling which will boost the pay of Directors of Health Nursing by up to
E17,000. The long-awaited benchmarking report on public service pay is
due to be published on Thursday amid grim predictions it will fail to
deliver any significant increases to key groups such as nurses. ... Nurses

Toni Bourke, Mayo Advertiser, January 7, 2008 The Health Service
Executive recruitment ban was lifted this week following discussions
with the HSE and trade union leaders. The ban had prevented health
authorities from recruiting additional staff over a four-month period,
during which time the executive received much criticism for
implementing what health workers described as “detrimental cost-cutting
measures”. CEO Professor Brendan Drumm and the national management team
of the HSE made the decision to lift the controversial ban following a
meeting on December 21. The end of the freeze was to take effect on New
Year’s Eve, allowing additional staff to be recruited within available
resources. ... Industrial

Independent.ie, December 18, 2007 Nurses at Ennis General Hospital are
due to begin industrial action this evening as part of a protest over
staffing levels at the facility. Members of the Irish Nurses
Organisation say they will only be operating on a work-to-rule basis
from 8pm until the HSE agrees to address the staffing shortage. The INO
says patient care is being affected following the HSE's decision to
withdraw one night-duty nurse in addition to failing to hire a promised
extra nurse for the A&E department. It is vowing to step up its
campaign of industrial action if the staffing problem is not addressed.
©independent.ie

Belfast Telegraph, December 13, 2007 Nurses say they could be forced to
take to the pickets as a result of the HSE's continuing recruitment
ban. The job freeze was introduced earlier this year as part of a plan
by health service managers to reduce major budget over-runs for 2007.
SIPTU nurses say the measure is laying the groundwork for big problems
for workers and patients, as pressure mounts on Irish hospitals. The
union says industrial action may be the only way of highlighting the
problem and the effect it is having on hospital services. © Belfast
Telegraph

Irish Times, December 13, 2007 Nurses who are members of Siptu have
said they "cannot rule out" industrial action over the recruitment ban
in the health service. Siptu's nursing council called on the Health
Service Executive (HSE) to rescind its ban on recruitment immediately.
The HSE placed a ban on recruitment in certain areas some months ago to
rein in overspending on some budgets before the end of the financial
year. The ban was discussed at a meeting of the union's national
nursing council yesterday. ... Siptu

Irish Independent, August 27, 2007 A new hi-tech €75m maternity
hospital remains short-staffed over four months after it opened its
doors. At the end of March, Cork University Maternity Hospital became
operational after its opening was delayed by a week due to a dispute
over staffing levels. However, several months later health services
bosses have confirmed it is still 27 people short of the approved
budget for 376 nurses and midwives at the state-of-the art facility on
the campus of Cork University Hospital. ... Top

Irish Independent, August 26, 2007 The Health Service Executive, backed
by the Labour Court refused to recognise a nursing grade in Britain
which was not practiced here. However, the European Commission
intervention has overturned the decision, in a move which could be
worth €20,000 to each of the 100 nurses involved. Dave Hughes from the
Irish Nurses Organisation said he welcomed the hard fought victory.
©independent.ie

Belfast Telegraph, July 13, 2007 Nurses and midwives are due to lodge a
formal submission today to the benchmarking body that decides on pay
increases for public sector employees. The move is being made by the
Irish Nurses Organisation and Psychiatric Nurses Association, who had
previously said they had no confidence in the body. The two
organisations mounted a long-running industrial action earlier this
year seeking a 10% pay rise and a 35-hour working week. ... Nurses

Channel 4 News, July 10, 2007 The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has
welcomed a decision in Northern Ireland to deliver the annual pay award
for nurses in full and in one go. In England the Government has ordered
stage payments, which reduces the value of the 2.5% increase
recommended by the independent review body to about 1.9% over the year
- leading to threats of strike action. England is the only country
still seeing a staged award - Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland have
all agreed a rise to be paid in full. ... Nurses

UNISON, July 10, 2007 Northern Ireland is to follow the lead set by
Scotland and Wales and overturn the UK government's decision to stage
this year's health pay award. "This means that the devolved
administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all lifted
the staging," said UNISON deputy head of health Mike Jackson, welcoming
the news that any pay settlement to nurses, midwives and other health
professionals would not be further reduced. However, England is still
lagging behind, and UNISON is still pushing for the government to
increase the current 'paltry' pay offer of 2.5%, which is substantially
below inflation, even without staging. ... Nurses

Pat Flynn & Claire O’Sullivan, Irish Examiner, July 4, 2007

Nurses at a HSE-run nursing home in Co Clare have strongly rejected
claims that an elderly patient who died, while in care there last month
was neglected or ill-treated.

It was confirmed earlier this week that the HSE is undertaking a review
of “practices and procedures” at Cappahard Lodge after concerns were
raised by staff, the HSE and other parties about the management and
treatment of the patients.

The HSE yesterday said that the decision to hold the review was made in
May, just weeks before the death of 69-year-old Gerard Finn.

There have been demands for extra security measures at hospitals after it emerged more than 1,000 assaults were launched on hospital staff in Belfast last year. Press Association, June 25, 2007 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Assemblyman Jimmy Spratt said they had a duty to protect doctors and nurses facing an onslaught of actual and verbal abuse. The worst figures were returned by north and west Belfast. "I would call on the Health Minister Michael McGimpsey to assess existing security provisions in place and examine any possible measures to improve safety within hospitals," the South Belfast representative said. "Hospital staff are invaluable to the welfare of the public and should at all times feel safe at work, free from the fear of physical or verbal assault." ... 1,000