Dear Member,

Annual Delegate Conference

An extremely successful Annual Delegate Conference was held in Sligo last week where the recently elected Executive Council were ratified, Officers were elected, and union policy and the budget was set for the year ahead.  As General Secretary, it was great to see delegates together once again after what an extremely tough two years has been. A full report of ADC will be in the next edition of the World of Irish Nursing magazine.

New Executive Council and Officers of INMO elected

Just a note to formally advise you that the incoming Executive Council, for the period 2022 - 2024, is as follows: 

At the annual Delegate Conference, Karen McGowan was re-elected as President, Mary Tully was elected First Vice President and Caroline Gourley was elected Second Vice President.

Restoration of Pre-Haddington Road Hours

The recommendation that working hours in the public service should be restored to pre-Haddington Road Agreement levels from July 1st, 2022 has been agreed by Government. At our Annual Delegate conference last week, our President Karen McGowan reminded Minister Donnelly in no uncertain terms that one of the main reasons why our members endorsed the latest public sector pay agreement, Building Momentum, was because of the commitment to reverse the Haddington Road hours. Nothing short of full implementation of the reversal will be acceptable. The INMO and other health sector unions are engaging with HSE on the matters required for implementation. It is expected that there will be a third meeting with the HSE next week on this issue and we will advise members of the progress on this issue.

Sectoral Bargaining

As you are aware the Sectoral Bargaining Fund is to be utilised to pay a 3.28% increase to promotional grades to address the pay differential that was narrowed because of the introduction of the Enhanced Salary Scale.  None of the Sectoral Bargaining Unit discussions for Healthcare Workers in the Health Service have concluded at this stage.  It has been confirmed that the increases due will apply retrospectively to the 1st of February 2022.  This process of negotiation is nearing completion and we expect to reach conclusion imminently.   

Public Sector Pay Talks

Following representations from the public service committee of ICTU of which the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is a member, exploratory talks on public sector pay began this week. As a member of the ICTU Public Services Committee, the INMO is represented at these talks by the General Secretary. At our first meeting last Wednesday, Government acknowledged there had been a change in the underlying economic assumptions that underpin the current agreement. There was a clear ask from the trade unions that an adjustment in the pay terms of Building Momentum must be part of any dialogue. We had an exploratory meeting on the 11^th May, it is anticipated that a further meeting will be held, and if progress is possible the Workplace Relations Commission will be contacted to see if they can facilitate a meeting with the Public Sectors Committee and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the coming weeks. The INMO is clearly focused on implementing unfinished business for nurse and midwife managers, the implementation of reduced hours, and realistic cost of living increases for members due to the erosion of the value of pay adjustments under Building momentum. Members will be kept fully updated as these issues progress.  

Medical Laboratory Scientists Association set to take industrial action on May 18th

The INMO have been notified by the MLSA that they intend to take Industrial Action in HSE hospitals, Section 38 hospitals, and the IBTS in respect of the Recruitment and Retention crisis for medical scientists, and grading anomalies and career progression.  We have been advised that the Industrial Action will take the form of a 12-hour work stoppage, commencing on Wednesday the 18^th of May 2022 from 8 am until 8 pm, and scheduled other dates thereafter.

The INMO has been requested by the MLSA that in line with normal trade union practice, no union or union members would act on or undermine a dispute or undertake the duties proper to the grades in dispute during the dispute. The INMO is therefore requesting all INMO members to respect this request and not to undertake such duties or act to undermine the MLSA.

If you have any queries regarding this matter, please contact your official.

International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses’ Day

Both International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses’ Day were celebrated in the last week. It was great to see members celebrated across our own social media channels and across those of the health service and beyond. Irish nurses and midwives are working in extremely challenging environments, dealing with a return to overcrowding while also dealing with the COVID pandemic, which is still a very real feature in Irish hospitals. On celebrating both days, the INMO called on Government to ensure that nurses and midwives are provided with the proper resources and support and a safe place of work. I hope you all got to see the acknowledgments to nurses and midwives on the days that mark the great contributions our professions make worldwide to healthcare delivery.

Is mise,

Phil Ní Sheaghdha

INMO General Secretary