New health forum to tackle critical industrial relations issues

The government established a new, high-level health forum in March 2007. The forum aims to help resolve a series of major industrial relations disputes, which are blocking the reform of Ireland’s ostensibly ailing public healthcare system. The Irish Prime Minister expressed his support for the initiative. The forum brings together a diverse range of healthcare workers.

A new health forum, established in early March 2007, has been assigned responsibility for applying the problem-solving tools of social partnership to help solve the complex work practice issues being faced by Ireland’s health sector. The forum will be chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, Dermot McCarthy, and will address non-pay issues and new work practices concerning groups of workers across the health sector. It will involve health employers, and trade unions representing a diverse range of healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, those in clerical and administrative grades, therapists and laboratory staff, along with workers in various support grades.

Background

The forum has been planned for some time, but was delayed due to a dispute involving the two nursing trade unions – namely, the larger Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and the smaller Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA). The dispute concerned a 10.6% pay claim for the elimination of an alleged anomaly with social and childcare workers, in addition to the nurses’ demand for a 35-hour week. Over 40,000 nurses are represented by the two trade unions.

The forum was set up with the intention of redefining the way in which industrial relations are conducted in the health sector; its establishment followed a letter by the Prime Minister (Taoiseach), Bertie Ahern, to the General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), David Begg, on 7 March. In his letter, Mr Ahern, stated the government’s ambitions:

Healthcare is a matter of major public interest which warrants a focus and commitment at national level, similar to that which was applied to the broader economy when social partnership was embarked upon in 1987.

The government also recognises that the achievement of a high-quality, cost-effective and sustainable healthcare system requires significant change to reflect the changing needs of patients, the impact of new technology and drugs, and best practice in the deployment of skilled and valuable healthcare personnel. There seems to be a clear desire among all parties to achieve more through partnership than is presently being achieved and all seem to agree that more can be achieved in this way. I also accept that existing industrial relations problems and the implications arising from such organisational changes need to be addressed.

Trade union view

The ICTU President and General Secretary of the Irish Municipal Public and Civil Trade Union (IMPACT), Peter McLoone, told the independent weekly magazine Industrial Relations News (IRN) that representatives of nurses, clinicians, managers and other health workers need to be brought together around one table, with their ‘hats left outside the door’.

Mr McLoone added: ‘Let us, first of all, agree what is wrong with the entire system, and then let us agree what needs to be done to fix it and who and what has to change’.

Commentary

The health forum initiative is ambitious, particularly in its aim to bring together disparate groups such as those representing consultants, non-consultant hospital doctors, nurses, care assistants, managers and administrators around the same negotiating table. Similarly, the central objective of devising mutually acceptable solutions to a range of complex problems facing the health sector represents a challenging goal.

Brian Sheehan, IRN Publishing