4 October 2007 Edition

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Nuacht na nOibrithe

HSE continues recruitment ban

IRISH Nurses’ Organisation General Secretary Liam Doran has said the Health Service Executive’s continued staff recruitment freeze will mean a bleak winter for the hospital system.
The HSE have said that they have exceeded its budget by over €245 million and this is the reason behind the ban which was implemented last month. Media reports say that the unions are expected to seek an emergency meeting of the Labour Relations Commission on the issue.
Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin stated:
“The decision of the HSE to continue its recruitment freeze in the health services is disgraceful and the health service unions are fully justified in now contemplating protest action. The false claims by Health Minister Harney and HSE Chief Executive Brendan Drumm that the cuts will not affect patient care are being fully exposed with hospitals around the state having to curtail services.”
Joe Hoolan of the INO has said that nine nurses at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore have been laid off and 19 beds closed in the orthopaedic unit.

Pay deals don’t protect all workers

JACK O’CONNOR, the head of SIPTU, has this week said that all workers are not being protected by the terms of national pay agreements.
According to O’Connor, there are whole sectors of the economy where pay conditions are actually deteriorating and he cited the hotel and catering sectors as two examples.
He also highlighted the conflict between inflation and pay rates.
“If you look at Central Statistics Office figures for average earnings for the year to December 2006, they increased by 0.7 per cent, much less than the national agreement, much less than the rate of inflation.”
When all the figures from the CSO are examined, he said, they show that wage rises are currently 3.6 per cent less than the rate of inflation.
“Now that we have the experience of what happened regarding inflation, people are obviously going to be reluctant to commit to medium term propositions [pay agreements] based on so-called experts.”
Interestingly, in July 2006, SIPTU recommended an endorsement of the social partnership agreement ‘Towards 2016’, stating that the “10 per cent pay increase would exceed all available projections of inflation (of which SIPTU’s own are the highest) for the 27-month period and should also provide members with a share of the benefits of productivity growth in the economy as well”.

Classroom assistants strike

CLASSROOM assistants in the North begin further industrial action this week after rejecting a pay offer through their union, NIPSA, saying it does not go far enough. Unison has suspended balloting on strike action this week. All-out strike action is scheduled for Monday, 8 October.
Sinn Féin’s Education Spokesperson, Lagan Valley MLA Paul Butler, said:
“Across the North, Sinn Féin representatives have been supporting classroom assistants. I very much welcome the intervention of Education Minister Caitriona Ruane in trying to get a resolution to this issue.
“The issue of job evaluation for classroom assistants is a long-running dispute, for 12 years. The results have been felt not just by classroom assistants but also in the classroom.
“Both the unions and the management need to get back to the negotiating table and resolve this dispute.
“I hope that all involved stay at the table until the dispute is settled. Sinn Féin will continue to give its support to the classroom assistants in their campaign for better pay and conditions and we intend meeting all the unions who represent the classroom assistants.”

Mail staff to leave posts

POSTAL workers in the North are ready to strike this week over a continued dispute over pay and conditions.
The walk-outs are due to start at the beginning of all shifts on October 4 and 5, with further actions taking place on October 8 and 10. The Communications Workers’ Union has said it is still seeking agreement with the management of Royal Mail on the issue.
Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney has said that failure to reach agreement in the current postal dispute could have devastating consequences for the North’s economy.

Union row at Dublin Port Tunnel

WORKERS at the Port Tunnel in Dublin are considering industrial action after a row developed with management over union recognition. There are also further disputes over pay and conditions.
The management of the company that employs the workers, Transroute, has refused to allow union representation to  employees.
Owen Reidy an organiser in SIPTU, said that serious disruption to the port tunnel is now “extremely likely”.


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