The main nursing unions this evening told their members to prepare for an escalation of industrial action if there is no breakthrough in talks due to resume tomorrow.
Nurses may introduce daily work stopages. Image: Frank Miller.
In a joint statement the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) said they would meet later this week to consider the introduction of daily work stoppages.
They also expressed their "deep disappointment and frustration" at the lack of progress in talks over the last week. The unions' 45,000 members are seeking a 10.6 per cent pay rise and a 35-hour working week. At present nurses work 39 hours a week.
Talks aimed at resolving the nurses' dispute, which enters its fifth week today, continued late last night. The talks at Government Buildings in Dublin, which resumed at 4pm yesterday having adjourned late Saturday night, were said to be deadlocked over the two key demands.
Following a joint meeting of the Executive Council and Officer Board of the INO and PNA today the statement said: "The two Executives were particularly angered by the failure of health service management to make any meaningful offer with regard to a date for the introduction of a 35-hour week or positive measures to address the pay anomaly.
"In view of this lack of progress, and notwithstanding the further round of negotiations now scheduled for tomorrow at 3.00 p.m., the meeting decided to advise all local co-ordinating committees that, in the absence of meaningful proposals capable of resolving this dispute, to prepare for escalation of the campaign before the end of this week."
Both unions' executives will meet again, at 11am on Thursday to review progress in the talks and consider the introduction of daily stoppages nationwide, the statement added.
Industrial action by nurses is continuing at hospitals and mental health facilities across the State.
Their action is taking the form of a work-to-rule during which they are refusing to deal with non-essential phone calls or carry out clerical or IT duties.
The HSE has said the action is putting patients at risk and it has instructed hospitals across the State to begin postponing appointments for out-patient clinics and elective procedures in the coming days, as a result of what it says are the risks posed by the work-to-rule.
It has also said the industrial action is costing up to €2 million a week.
An initial series of one-hour work stoppages was suspended to allow talks to take place.
