Sir, - The nurses' strike has been a very traumatic experience. Nurses had to confront ethical dilemmas and choices in a new environment where uncertainty over the length and intensity of the dispute added to their difficulties. Not only that, but the intense scrutiny which the media focused on the dispute meant that, even off duty, nurses were watching television, listening to the radio or reading newspapers to the extent that it also took over their home lives.
As a director of nursing in an acute hospital, I think it is important that everyone realises the intense psychological effect that the strike had on nurses. It was against this background that many nurses initially reacted negatively to the Labour Court recommendations. Subsequently, when they had a chance to study the proposals, many of them supported the deal.
The Labour Court has done more than simply look at pay scales and allowances. It has also underlined the need for the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Nursing. The process it has outlined will be a key element in the future development of nursing in Ireland in a planned, co-ordinated and prompt manner.
One positive aspect of the dispute is that a new understanding of industrial relations is emerging among nurses. Many of us see the need for an incremental approach to the development of the profession.
The strike has shown that the dispute has reached a stage where, in economic and social terms, we are facing the law of diminishing returns. More and more effort will have to be expended for minimal gains. I don't believe a return to a strike is justified in terms of the psychological, health or financial costs to nurses or to patients.
It is against this background that I fully support the latest Labour Court proposals and I am very glad of the opportunity to return to work. I will be voting for them and I would urge a positive vote by my nursing colleagues in the forthcoming ballot. I believe it is a good deal and that the chairman of the Labour Court, Mr Finbarr Flood, and its deputy chairman, Mr Kevin Duffy, deserve our thanks for putting their time and experience at our disposal.
Finally, there has been a lot of talk about the £16 million saved by the Government on nurses' pay during the strike. The Minister for Health tells us that this cannot be paid out to nurses who provided free emergency cover because of the precedent it would set for other workers in essential services. Might I suggest that the money be used to develop some new project that will provide better care for patients and training for nurses. This would mean that nurses could feel their time on strike was not wasted and it would be a living reminder to all of us, including the Government, that we must find a better way of resolving problems in the health services. - Yours, etc.,
Geraldine Regan, Howth, Co Dublin.