Greater trade union movement key to ending dispute

ANNOUNCING their support for the nurses in their pay dispute, the Association of Secondary Teachers’ Ireland (ASTI) yesterday said the power to resolve the matter lies with the greater trade union movement.

The suggestion was made during an emergency debate offering the ASTI’s support of the right of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation (INO) and Psychiatric Nurses’ Association (PNA) to negotiate their pay and working hours claim outside the public service benchmarking process.

The motion passed unanimously by almost 500 delegates stated that the deficiencies and inflexibility of the benchmarking arbitration process must not be used to isolate, obstruct and demean a caring profession.