TRADE UNION leaders have warned that the prospect of thousands of job losses in the health sector under HSE cost-saving proposals could undermine social partnership talks on an economic recovery programme which resumed earlier this week.
The general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) David Begg said that it would undoubtedly be very hard for it to be “talking in the tent of peace” while the talk of cutbacks was going on outside.
“If you have a constant stream of circulars issuing edicts about cutbacks of one sort or another it is almost certain that they will destabilise the talks and cause industrial relations problems.
“In fairness, the unions will try to accommodate the budgetary cutbacks provided there is a reasonable discussion with them but if you have a constant leakage of circulars without any discussion it is very destabilising for people on the ground,” he said. Mr Begg said there needed to be some kind of process so that the issue of cutbacks could be managed properly.
The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and the trade union Impact yesterday warned that industrial action was “inevitable” if the HSE pressed ahead with cutback proposals. They said the most worrying aspect was the decision to cease renewing up to 14,000 temporary contracts and 3,000 locum contracts held by staff performing essential services.
The unions said the proposed transfer of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme and associated staff to the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the migration of 2,000 staff from the hospital to the community sector in the HSE, and the potential loss of 700 staff nurse posts in changes to the ratios under the student nurse placement scheme were not core issues and were being dealt with separately.
Impact national secretary Kevin Callinan said that the Irish health service at any time depended hugely on people who were designated as temporary. He said that the HSE had been circulating guidelines to its own managers on the termination of employment for temporary staff.
The unions rejected HSE statements that the move would not affect frontline services.
The general secretary of the INO Liam Doran said that the HSE plan would represent a dismantling of public health services.
HSE national director of human resources Seán McGrath said last night that where there were clinical risk issues and local management required assistance they could take on emergency staff. However, he said local management would have to make sure that there was not a similarly qualified person available in the system.
Meanwhile, trade union Unite said it would be seeking the introduction of a system of payroll subsidies and other supports to maintain jobs and incomes, new economic investment, the introduction of a new Government pension protection fund and flat-rate pay increases under the national wage to assist those in greatest need as part of the social partnership talks.
