Nurses formally ended their seven-week industrial action this morning after last night voting in favour of a review of their claim for a shorter working week and a wage increase.
The Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) voted by 54 per cent to 46 per cent in favour of accepting a 37-and-a-half-hour working week by June next year.
However, they have not given up their claim for it to be reduced to 35 hours, which they say is in line with other healthcare workers.
They are also accepting a proposal to refer their pay claim for a 10.6 per cent pay increase through the public service benchmarking system.
The Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) will vote on the proposal next month.
But with the INO representing around 40,000 of the 46,000 midwives and nurses who engaged in the wor-to-rule, PNA general secretary Des Kavanagh said he would not propose further industrial action even if his members rejected the offer.