Health service management is expected to respond within a month to a claim by Siptu for a reduction in the working week for around 30,000 healthcare staff.
The union is seeking the reduced hours for paramedics, healthcare assistants as well as porters and catering staff following from the recent deal agreed with nurses in the public health system.
The union made a claim on Friday for a 37.5-hour week (moving later to a 35-hour week) on behalf of these staff.
A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive (HSE) said yesterday that management hoped to give its response to the claim within four weeks. It is understood that management gave no indication of its view at the meeting on Friday.
Siptu national industrial secretary Matt Merrigan told The Irish Times last week that his members would be seeking a similar arrangement to that provided for nurses.
It is expected that if there is no agreement between the union and management on the reduction of the working week in direct negotiations, Siptu would seek to take the issue to the Labour Relations Commission.
Siptu is one of a number of unions that are expected to seek a reduced working week for members on foot of the deal agreed between the Government and nurses.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) is expected today to signal its intent to submit a claim for a reduction in the standard week for around 4,000 non-consultant hospital doctors.
The IMO is scheduled to meet health service employers today on various issues affecting non-consultant doctors. It said last week that traditionally, non-consultant hospital doctors and nurses had an identical core working week. Non-consultant doctors currently work a 39-hour week.
The Government earlier this month agreed to introduce a 37.5-hour week for nurses from June of next year. This was agreed as part of a resolution to the recent seven-week dispute in hospitals.
The Government is also to establish an independent commission to examine how the health service could move to introduce a 35-hour week.
Members of the Irish Nurses' Organisation last week voted narrowly to accept this package of measures which had been put forward by the National Implementation Body - the main troubleshooting mechanism in the social partnership process.
Minister for Health Mary Harney last week said that public sector groups seeking a reduction in their working week would have to offer productivity and work practice reforms in return.
She said that such a move to a reduced working week could not cost the taxpayer more money or lead to a reduction in services for customers or patients.
Gardaí have also signalled that they too would be seeking reduced working hours following on from the deal reached with nurses.
Public sector unions are expected to watch closely over the months ahead at the level of productivity and work practice reform which will be sought from nurses in return for their reduced working hours.
