Notice To Agency Nurse/Midwife Members

l-r:  Phil NiSheaghdha, INMO Director of Industrial Relations, Patrick Nulty TD and Colette Mullin, INMO Information & Research Executive (IR)	bbbb	Click to view video above

16th February, 2012.

Dear Colleagues,

Further to our previous Note on the Agency Directive/Bill, I wish to advise that the INMO have been lobbying TD’s and Senators in respect of the amendments we believe would improve the Bill as it currently stands.  The process of enactment of legislation is moving at a very fast pace and today the INMO, represented by Phil Ni Sheaghdha, Director of Industrial Relations and Colette Mullin, Information and Research Executive (IR), met with TD Patrick Nulty (Dublin West) to seek his agreement to table the INMO amendments for full debate in the Dail next week.

The INMO are happy to advise that Deputy Nulty has succeeded in tabling the amendments on behalf of the INMO and these will be debated at 11.30am on next Wednesday, 22nd February 2012, in the Dail.  We now call on all Agency Nurses/Midwives to familiarise themselves with these amendments and to request of their own local TD’s to support the amendments of the INMO on the day.  The amendments, while technical, as they appear, are based on the legislation that has been drafted and seek to improve it to ensure that Agency Nurses/Midwives do in fact, as intended by the directive, have equal rights to directly employed staff.  

If any Agency Nurse/Midwife wishes to attend the Dail for this debate in the visitors’ gallery, please advise us of this and we will seek to get Deputy Nulty to sign a number of visitors in on the day.  

If you require any further information on this, please contact the undersigned directly and also please click here to read the amendments that have been tabled on your behalf by the INMO.

Thanking you for your attention to this matter.


Is Mise


PHIL Ni SHEAGHDHA,
Director of Industrial Relations.
 

2nd February, 2012.

TO:    INMO Agency Nurse Members

Dear Colleagues,

Further to my previous update in respect of the Agency Directive, I wish to update you as follows:-

1. The Directive is currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas and has passed the first stage which is where it is presented to government and is now at the committee stage.  The INMO have made a submission outlining areas of concern with the Directive and this has been submitted to the negotiating team of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.  The Irish Congress of Trade Unions have also made a submission incorporating some of the points made in the INMO submission and these have been forwarded to government.
2. The next phase of this process allows for parties to seek amendments to the legislation.

It is our intention to lobby opposition politicians with a view to getting amendments that we believe are important incorporated into the legislation prior to it being written into law by the President.  The timeframe on all of this, as articulated by government is aimed for the Bill to be signed into law by the President in March.

In the meantime, as previously advised, agency personnel should submit all details in respect of their incremental credit to the agency to which they are affiliated and seek correct rates of pay.  The INMO has sought a meeting with the HSE in respect of how exactly they intend to apply the directive, as the Minister has confirmed its application date as 5th December 2011.  

In the meantime, please advise us of feedback you are receiving locally which we will utilise in our discussions with the HSE in the event that there are any delays in implementation.

Thanking you for your attention to this Notice.

Is Mise,


PHIL Ni SHEAGHDHA,
Director of Industrial Relations.
 

19^th December  2011

To:      AGENCY NURSE/MIDWIVES

Re:      Update on the Agency Directive

Dear  Colleagues

We are advised that the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Workers) Bill 2011 was Published on 16/12/11.  This Bill will now be scheduled for discussions at the houses of the Oireachteas, which may or may not result in Amendments to it.  Post this process it will be signed into Law by President Michael D Higgins, in early 2012.  The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has issued a sheet of Frequently Asked Questions (see below) on the directive which you may find useful.

Temporary Agency Work Directive Frequently Asked Questions - Key Issues

If you have further queries/questions please contact your INMO Official and/or our Information Office.

Is mise                     

PHIL Ni SHEAGHDHA
Director of Industrial Relations

1st  December  2011

25 November 2011

To:      AGENCY NURSES

Re:      Update on the Agency Directive

As you are aware, the EU temporary agency directive which was due to be transposed into Irish law by 5^th December 2011, has been the subject of two meetings between the trade unions as national level (Irish Congress of Trade Unions) and the various government departments responsible for its transposition.

The most recent meeting regarding this matter was held on 23^rd November 2011 and the INMO was represented at this forum by Phil Ni Sheaghdha, Director of Industrial Relations.  The trade unions were advised by government officials that the legislation to transpose the directive into Irish law is currently being drafted and will not be enacted by the 5^th December deadline.

As you are aware, the importance of this directive is that it provides agency workers with the right to equal treatment  with employees who are directly employed by the hiring organisation in respect of basic working and employment conditions, which includes pay annual leave, rest periods, etc.   From agency nurses’ perspective, this would mean that agency nurses would be entitled to be paid on the same rate as their comparative directly employed nurse. 

The Directive provides that the equal treatment rights will be effective from the first day of service unless the social partners at national level agree a longer qualifying / waiting period.

Currently there is no such agreement between the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Government.  For the record, the INMO’s position on this matter is that equal treatment rights should apply to agency workers from their first day of service.  Therefore, in the absence of an agreement, the principle of equal treatment will apply from the first day of employment, from 5^th December 2011.

As you may be aware, in Great Britain, the trade unions agreed to this type of derogation and as a consequence, the UK Regulations allow for a 12-week waiting period before the principle of equal treatment applies.  As stated previously, the INMO is not in favour of this derogation.  The INMO is represented by Mr. Liam Doran, General Secretary, and Ms. Phil Ni Sheaghdha, Director of Industrial relations, on the National Executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and we have made this point very clear at that forum.

At the meeting on the 23^rd November we were advised by the Department of Finance that if a derogation is not agreed by the 5^th December deadline, the Government may still seek to reach agreement on a qualifying period up to the implementation date of the legislation.  This is a source of concern to the INMO as we believe the Government might delay the implementation of the legislation and seek to use this delay to put pressure on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to agree a derogation.

It is confirmed by the Department of Finance that agency workers who are working in the public service have the protection of this directive from the 5^th December, regardless of whether legislation is in place or not. Therefore, it is important that as an agency worker, if you are not paid on the correct point of the salary scale, i.e., are paid less than what the incremental credit agreement would allow, that you record this, and you notify us immediately. (It is your responsibility to produce evidence of your world wide nursing experience/service to the agency you have signed with)

The Department of Health and HSE who were represented at the meeting on the 23^rd November, confirmed to us that the agencies who place nurses in workplaces in the public sector, i.e. CPL and Nurse on Call have been collecting data from nurses regarding their incremental credit and that they are confident that this data is now up-to-date for nurses who are on the books of these agencies.  The INMO sought a written confirmation of the incremental credit measurement that has been used by the agencies, to ensure that we are satisfied that it is consistent and in accordance with the National Agreement on the Application of Incremental Credit to Nurses.

As this matter is likely to be the subject of further talks between the ICTU and government,  leading up the 5^th December and possibly thereafter, please keep in contact with you local industrial relations officer, regarding your incremental credit, and, log onto the INMO website for up-to-date information, any updates will be posted on our website for your information.

Thanking you.

Is mise                     

_______________________________________

PHIL Ni SHEAGHDHA
Director of Industrial Relations