Talks at the Workplace Relations Commission between Health Service Executive management and unions in a bid to resolve a dispute over staffing numbers have been adjourned and will resume tomorrow.
The negotiations ended shortly after 2am this morning following almost 14 hours of talks.
A document containing a set of proposals from the HSE was presented to unions yesterday evening.
It is understood the suggested measures included greater consultation with unions on future staffing decisions, the conversion of certain agency posts to HSE jobs and the introduction of new training initiatives.
Unions offered counter proposals and the HSE requested more time to consider these.
From Monday, 80,000 health workers will commence a work-to-rule in hospitals across the country.
Members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) began a work-to-rule on Wednesday.
Ahead of the talks at the WRC, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Fórsa informed the HSE that they would be escalating the dispute in the form of a one-day strike at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda next Thursday 3 April.
The unions said that the escalation is due to efforts by senior management in the Dublin Northeast Region to continue to book agency workers throughout the period of next week’s industrial action, which they described as a deliberate attempt to undermine the dispute.
Leaving the talks this morning, General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the proposals put forward by unions are sensible.
“They put processes in place around recruitment and retention that are necessary,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.
“We have many agreements that are outstanding, Labour Court recommendations that are not implemented.”
“These are normal industrial relations issues but we are now finding that the employer that has agreed to these is saying they need more time to consider when or how they should implement them,” she added.
“It’s a very serious day on Monday, it’s regrettable but our members are very focused and they are ready.
“I think our response to their paper is reasonable, there is nothing extraordinary and we’d be saying to the employer that in the time they have before Saturday morning, there is a lot of thinking they have to do and if their intent to avoid a dispute is as they have stated well then they have all the necessary ingredients to do that,” she said.
The talks at the WRC were attended by the INMO, Fórsa, Unite, Connect and the MLSA. SIPTU and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) were also represented at the talks.
Unions have claimed recruitment restrictions and the suppression of vacant posts have led to unsafe conditions for patients and staff.
The HSE said it was approaching the talks with unions in a constructive spirit with a view to resolving the dispute in the public interest.
It has previously said that the planned industrial action is regrettable against the background of additional funding for the health service and increasing staff numbers.
According to the HSE, funding provided in 2024 and 2025 will allow the HSE to recruit an additional 6,528 staff in 2025 in addition to replacing departing staff.
It has warned that any industrial action would be seriously disruptive to the provision of services and will lead to increased delays and longer waiting lists.
