Pay dispute resolved between Caredoc service and HSE

A pay dispute between Caredoc and the HSE has been resolved this evening following mediation.

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill confirmed that the dispute had been resolved in a statement issued tonight.

Meanwhile, Caredoc has confirmed that it has secured “sufficient HSE funding” to meet the demands of Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and SIPTU unions to end the current strike action.

Ms Carroll MacNeill said: “I have been advised by the HSE CEO that the matters between Caredoc and the HSE which were the subject of mediation today have been resolved by agreement

“This in turn should create the conditions for Caredoc as employer to respond positively to the concerns of their staff and make appropriate remuneration payments that will result in the end of the current industrial action.

“I am particularly pleased with this outcome for patients in the southeast who rely on the important out-of-hours GP services and Community Intervention Teams provided by Caredoc.

“I also want to recognise the hard work and dedication of these front line staff and I hope we will now see a speedy return to normal service in what is an exceptionally busy time for our health services,” the Minister added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Caredoc said: “Payment will be processed immediately to all staff, once funds are discharged by the HSE.

“The increase in funding has been agreed to sustain Caredoc services going forward.

“We have requested the INMO and SIPTU unions to seek an immediate return to work tonight, in the interests of patient safety.”

It follows a day of strike action taken by INMO and SIPTU members employed at Caredoc in a dispute centred on them receiving an 8% increase in pay that they said was part of a Workplace Relations Commission agreement made in 2023 but never implemented.

However, representatives for both the INMO and SIPTU have stressed that while a resolution may have been reached between the HSE and Caredoc, nothing has yet been agreed by their members.

The unions have said they want to see more details regarding the agreement between the HSE and Caredoc, and then put a formal proposal to their members.

The INMO has said that no formal offer has been received by unions.

INMO Industrial Relations Officer Gráinne Walsh said: “No formal offer has been received from the employer, Caredoc, therefore the dispute is not resolved.

“We will await the details of discussions between HSE and Caredoc that the unions at the centre of this dispute, the INMO and SIPTU, were not party to. Once details have been received we will then put them to our members for consideration.

“Unions are available this evening for engagement with Caredoc.”