Unions call for boycott of ‘flawed initiative’

CLARE nurses are being urged to participate in a national rally to oppose plans by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to introduce “cheap labour” under a “superficial guise of an educational graduate programme”.
Two nursing unions are calling for a boycott of this “flawed initiative”, which plans to hire 1,000 graduate nurses at 80% of previous starting salaries.
Under the initiative, the graduates would have two-year contracts, instead of being permanent, and would start on €22,000 a year, instead of the current €26,400.
A national rally to galvanise opposition to the initiative takes place this Saturday in Croke Park at 11am.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s rally, Des Kavanagh, general secretary of the PNA, said, “The HSE are presenting this flawed initiative as some sort of opportunity for new graduates. All it is, in reality, is an overt attempt to recruit cheap labour in breach of agreed salaries.”
Liam Doran, general secretary of the INMO, claimed there are no new jobs attached to this initiative and warned its introduction will put 1,000 experienced nurses and midwives out of work, while giving transient work to the new graduates.
Saturday’s rally, which will be attended by 2012 graduates, agency nurses, temporary nurses on panels awaiting permanent posts and fourth-year undergraduates, will review the impact of the current proposals and set out the next steps in this campaign to oppose them.
The INMO and PNA have, as the HSE has acknowledged, continuously campaigned for the ending of the HSE’s dependence on overtime and agency nurses/midwives.
Instead the unions have sought the employment of its graduates and the regularisation of agency staff to fill vacant posts and replace overtime. They say these measures would also yield payroll savings, for the HSE, potentially greater than proposed under this initiative.
The nurses and midwives recruited under the proposed programme will have to undertake the full range of duties of a staff nurse or midwife
According to the unions, starting pay for newly qualified nurses and midwives has already been cut by 24% since 2009.
They have also stated the direct conversion of agency staff into direct employment would potentially save the HSE 26.5%, or up to €23 million, annually.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Six One recently, Barry O’Brien, director of human resources with the HSE, said the programme is an option for graduates looking for work here.
“I find it very difficult to understand the INMO’s reaction,” he added.
According to the HSE, the initiative provides an opportunity to significantly reduce agency usage and overtime, while ensuring continuity of supply to the nursing and midwifery workforce and the provision of quality patient care. The programme is open to all EU 2012 nursing and midwifery graduates, who are An Bord Altranais registered at the time of application.