Nurses taking a ‘hard line’ in response to benchmarking decision

THE Psychiatric Nurses’ Association will spend the next number of weeks consulting with members to determine what action to take in response to the failure of benchmarking to grant any pay increase to the majority of nurses.

Yesterday the association’s national executive met to discuss the fallout following the decision not to award any increase to up to 40,000 nurses, despite government assurances to nursing unions that benchmarking would deal with their pay claims.

Association general secretary Des Kavanagh said it was taking a “very hard line” in response to the benchmarking decision and was looking at every option.

“People are quite shocked and dismayed. Of all the groups examined by the benchmarking body, nurses were the only group it found to be outside its terms of reference. It seems there isn’t a process available to us to resolve the issue. It is up to the Government to come up with a process or else fall foul of us in terms of any future action taken,” said Mr Kavanagh.

Mr Kavanagh said it was not going to wait until the next benchmarking exercise for a pay rise, having already waited 18 months.

“What’s more we believe the wording of the benchmarking body — that the nurses’ claim for parity of pay with therapeutic grades is outside its terms of reference — represents an opportunity for Government to find a way forward,” said Mr Kavanagh.

He said he could not see any progress being made in relation to the nurses’s claims in the upcoming national pay talks “unless it was to include a loophole to allow a separate process be put in place for nurses”.

The Psychiatric Nurses’ Association will meet with members of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation today following a meeting of its executive to see if there is common ground between the unions in terms of pursuing their claims. He said the association had “a history of fighting as it sees fit” and would go on a solo run if necessary.