Irish Student Nurses Fighting Back !

Student nurses warn of cut backlash

By: MARTIN WALL, Industry correspondent
February 16, 2011

The Irish Times

Over 3,000 student nurses and midwifes have taken part in a rally at the Department of Health in Dublin today in protest at Government plans to

phase-out and ultimately eliminate payments for their mandatory 36-week placement in hospitals.

Siptu nursing official Louise O'Reilly said that nurses would punish those who made the decision to introduce the cuts in the forthcoming general election.

Liam Dolan from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation urged student nurses to tell their TDs that they would not vote for them if they did not pledge to reverse the cuts.

Mr Dolan said that the unions would meet with Fian na Fáil on the issue tomorrow.

Des Kavanagh of the Psychiatric Nurses Association said the decision to make the cuts was a final act of betrayal by the former minister of health Mary Harney.

He said the Opposition parties should be clear and unambiguous in their support for student nurses and that "woolly soundbites are not acceptable."

Minister for Health Mary Coughlan last week has asked the secretary-general of her department to carry out a review of the decision to abolish student nurse payments from 2015.

It is understood the review will focus only on the plan to abolish completely the payments from 2015 and plans to reduce the level of payments made to student nurses and midwives over the coming years will remain in place.

The Government announced in late December that it planned to reduce and ultimately abolish payments made to fourth-year nurses and midwives in training during their mandatory 36-week placements in hospitals.

They are currently paid 80 per cent of the salary of a staff nurse during this period.

The Department of Health estimates the cuts will ultimately generated savings of €28 million.

About 3,500 student nurses and midwives took part in demonstrations at 13 hospitals around the country last Wednesday against the planned cuts as unions promised to make them a major issue in the general election.

Wednesday February 16 2011

Irish Independent

Angry student nurses have warned politicians they will be punished in the General Election unless plans to abolish their pay during ward placements are reversed.

Up to 3,000 protesters marched through Dublin and staged a rally at the Department of Health over proposals to phase out payments to fourth-year students working on wards during a nine-month internship.

Security staff padlocked the gates around Hawkins House and senior health chiefs quickly left for lunch before nurses and midwives arrived en masse to hand in a letter calling on the in-coming minister to reverse the plan.

Louise O'Reilly, Siptu's national nursing official, told noisy demonstrators the cuts were a new low for the Government.

"We will hold our politicians to account and shame those cowards who will not pledge to reverse those cuts," she said.

"We say no to slave labour and we will punish those on February 25 who try to introduce it."

Student nurses and midwives are currently paid 80pc of the salary of a staff nurse during their mandatory 36-week placements in hospitals.

Tanaiste Mary Coughlan has asked officials to carry out a review of a decision to reduce and ultimately abolish payments over the next four years.

Four-year-old Ella Dowd dressed in a nurses uniform to support her mother Tara and aunt Maria, both from Swords, north Dublin.

Tara, a second-year psychiatric nursing student at Trinity College, fears she could be forced to leave her course if her pay is cut in her final year.

The 26-year-old lone parent already studies, has placements in St Patrick's Hospital, works weekends for an agency and cares for her daughter.

"This would make a huge difference. I'd probably end up dropping out because I couldn't afford to run my home, Ella's creche and a childminder for weekends," she said.

Maria, 20, a third-year psychiatric nursing student, added: "Next year I will have my own patients and will be administering their medications.

"That is a huge responsibility for anyone to have. Intern doctors will still get paid, why are intern nurses getting cut?"

Union leaders from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA), and Siptu are holding talks with members of each political party, including Fianna Fail, for their stance on the cuts.

INMO general secretary, Liam Doran, warned his members and their families, who wield more than 200,000 votes, will be told the reply from each party before they go to the ballot boxes.

Fourth-year pre-registration nurses and midwives will also be balloted for a withdrawal of labour in early March if they do not secure a resolution.

Nurses Strike - Gweedore - Donegal Gaeltacht

SIPTU NURSES TO STRIKE
IN DONEGAL

21 Aug 2009

SIPTU members to take industrial action at Gweedore Nursing Home in the Donegal Gaeltacht (Ireland's largest Irish speaking area)





Members of SIPTU at the Bainistiocht Aras Gaoth Dobhair Teoranta nursing home in Gweeedore County Donegal are taking industrial action in pursuit of their claim for terms and conditions of employment comparable to similar grades in the Health Service Executive (HSE). The initial stoppage is for 24 hours on September 1 and the Union says it will do everything possible to avoid discomfort to patients if the action goes ahead.

Aras Gaoth Dobhair, a 41 bed community nursing home, was set up in 2004 on a partnership basis between the HSE, Udarás na Gaeltacht and a local community group. The Director of Service at the nursing home is a HSE employee, while two community care managers are nominated by the HSE to sit on the management committee of the nursing home.

“However, SIPTU members, who comprise the majority of the 47 employees and work in the administrative and maintenance areas, do not enjoy the same terms and conditions of employment as similar grades within the HSE”, Branch Organiser, Martin O’Rourke said today. He added that Union members have waited patiently for over three years to have their employment issues resolved.

“In July, the Labour Court recommended very marginal improvements which do not resolve the issues of concern to our members. The Court’s recommendations on pensions, sick pay and shift allowances were overwhelmingly rejected as completely inadequate and far short of what HSE employees enjoy,” he said.

“SIPTU issued notice of industrial action to the company on August 6, 2009 to allow it the best possible opportunity to resolve the dispute. Regretfully, we have yet to received any meaningful proposals which might resolve the outstanding issues.

“Many of the clients are vulnerable and elderly and for that reason we have decided to limit the initial action to one 24-hour period commencing at 8.00am on Tuesday, September 1 until 8.00am on Wednesday, September 2. ” he said. “If the strike goes ahead, every effort will be made to avert possible discomfort clients.”

He stressed that SIPTU remains available for talks, “But it is not fair, reasonable nor acceptable that all employees do not enjoy the same terms and conditions of employment as similar grades within the HSE who do exactly the same work. Frankly, our members deserve better than this.”

NOTE

SIPTU/ITGWU has for many years a strong base amongst nurses in Donegal, starting with nurses at Letterkenny Mental Hospital thanks to the work of ITGWU pioneers such as Peadar O'Donnell (Irish speaker born at Meenmore, Dugloe, Co Donegal) appointed ITGWU organiser in 1918.

John Nugent was elected as ITGWU branch secretary in 1947 at Letterkenny Mental Hospital.

The ITGWU had members in Donegal from the beginnings of the union in 1909, while Peadar O'Donnell had increased membership, by 1920 Donegal had just four branches Donegal town, Letterkenny, Ballyshannon and Dugloe (?). It was not until the organisation of workers at a Woollen Mill at Convoy, the largest private employer in the county that membership took off.

The first branch Secretary of the Convoy branch was John Anthony McElhinney.

8 Hour Day - Nurses 1920

15 May 1920
--
EIGHT HOURS’ DAY IN DUBLIN.

The Corporation of Dublin, which makes grants to various hospitals in the city, has decided to make such grants conditional upon the establishment of an eight hours’day for nurses.

In this connection several medical contemporaries take exception to this decision on the ground that in the case of a nurse work and duty are not co-extensive, though no doubt she is liable to answer a bell or call at any moment.”

That may be the case with private nurses, but we have yet to meet the hospital nurse who spends “ much of her time on duty sitting down,” There is a very wrong conception prevalent of the way in which hospital nurses work, It is usually at full

Nurses 8hr Day Dublin - 1920

NURSES EIGHT HOURS’ DAY IN DUBLIN.

The Corporation of Dublin, which makes grants to various hospitals in the city, has decided to make such grants conditional upon the establishment of an eight hours’day for nurses.


source
British Nursing Journal - 15th May 1920

ITGWU Irish Nurses Deal 1956

In our last issue we reported on the threatened stoppage of work by the mental hospital nursing staffs throughout the country following the failure of negotiations to resolve the matters at issue.

We are now pleased to record that this stoppage has been averted and an amicable and very satisfactory settlement effected following the resumption of negotiations with the representatives of the Managers of the mental hospitals under the auspices of the Labour Court.

The Court's intervention in the dispute led to the setting up of a Provisional Conciliation Council presided over by Mr. E. de Burca of the Labour Court, assisted by Mr. E. B. Barry of the Court, who acted as Secretary. Our representatives on the Council were ably assisted by Mr. James Larkin, T.D., General Secretary, Workers' Union of Ireland, Mr. John Foster, Workers' Union of

Ireland and Grangegorman Mental Hospital, and by Miss M. Sugrue and Miss C. Breslin of the Irish Women Workers' Union.

The Council's deliberation resulted in the following agreement :—

(1)that a permanent body on thelines of a Joint Industrial Council be established immediately to consider future claims relating to salaries and conditions of service of nursing and attendant staffs.

(2) that the following national salary scales apply to mental nursing and attendant staffs (exclusive of senior nursing posts):

Male attendants — £290+£5 to £305.

Male nurses — £345+£10 to £395, to £405 after 11 years, to £410 after 15 years, and to £415 after 20 years.

Female attendants—£265+£4 to £277

Female nurses — £305 + £10 to £365 and to £375 after 20 years

In addition to these scales £25 p.a. is payable to a Deputy Charge nurse and £45 p.a. to Charge nurses.

Cost of living allowances granted on a national basis on and after 1st November, 1952, shall be added to the above scales.

It is accepted by the Provisional Council that any of the parties may submit at any future date for consideration and determination by the Council a proposal for the amending of the above salary scales on a national basis and further, that any of the parties may submit at any time for consideration and determination bv the Council claims in respect of conditions of employment and service such as overtime conditions and payments and problems in respect of supervision and overcrowding.

Nothing herein contained shall prejudice in any way any personal plus allowances already being paid in any district mental hospital.

The Council agrees that the scales set out above shall be payable

on and from 1st December, 1955.

ITGWU (SIPTU) Liberty, March, 1956.

Irish nurses strike 1980 and 1999

The Irish experience of strike action first occurred in 1980 over a pay dispute.

It lasted 17 days and mostly involved nurses belonging to SIPTU (then known as the Irish transport & General Workers Union - ITGWU)

According to ITGWU Nursing Officer Pat Brady the strike action was successful in that it achieved a major pay increase for nurses.

the union also recruited substantial number of members from the Irish Nurses Organisation (then like the RCN a no strike union)

IRISH NURSES STRIKE 1999

On Tuesday 19th October 1999 by the biggest strike in its history, as 27,500 nurses began indefinite strike action over pay and working conditions.

Members of all four nursing unions backed the strike by massive majorities on October 11. They rejected an offer by the Labour Court (a cross union-government body), which the government claimed amounted to a 23 percent rise on basic salaries.

SIPTU nurses voted 82 percent in favor of strike action, and the Irish Nurses Organisation, voted 96 percent in favor. While smaller unions IMPACT and the Psychiatric Nurses Association members backed the action by 89 percent.

27,000 nurses began on 19 October 1999. The key issue for the nurses was their bid to enhance both their pay and professional status to a level that they felt was commensurate with their qualifications and the professional demands which are made upon them.

The government, for its part, was fearful that further concessions would provoke "knock-on" pay claims elsewhere in the public sector. For this reason, the government was resolute in its determination to face down the nurses, partly in an attempt to dissuade other public sector workers from pressing their own claims. The strike was called off after nine days, after the nurses had secured some concessions that exceeded the terms previously offered following a Labour Court recommendation