Grievances over HSE staff freeze hit Labour Court

UNIONS angry at recruitment restrictions within the health service will begin airing their grievances in the Labour Court today.

The court will be asked to rule on whether the Health Service Executive (HSE) breached the national pay agreement Towards 2016 and legislation covering staff rights to information and consultation when it unilaterally imposed its recruitment freeze last year.

According to a statement from the IMPACT trade union last night, the legislation requires employers to inform and consult with staff over issues that affect their working lives.

IMPACT argues that a HSE circular, issued earlier this month, effectively abolished vacant posts that were unfilled when last year’s recruitment freeze was imposed, as well as posts that became vacant during the freeze.

These new measures, referred to by the HSE as the employment control framework, were outlined in a circular sent to hospitals by Martin McDonald, the HSE’s national director for human resources.

The circular, dated January 8, stated that employment levels would only rise to deliver government or ministerial-approved service developments.

It said frontline posts in the health service, such as those of doctors and nurses that are vacant since last year, cannot now be filled unless another post is done away with.

“Where there are critical frontline vacancies predating the start of 2008, the filling of such vacancies can occur when another post falling vacant after January 1, 2008, is identified and suppressed,” the circular said.

The circular also said only vacancies that arose after January 1, 2008, could be considered for filling.

IMPACT national secretary Kevin Callinan said staff were furious.

“If the Government thinks health workers are annoyed about benchmarking, they should brace themselves for a real wave of anger over staffing.

“This bizarre and unworkable new policy is hurting patients and service users, while placing intolerable burdens on workers,” he said.

A spokesperson for the HSE said it had no comment to make other than its recruitment freeze — imposed in September 2007 and lifted at the end of December — was over and that the HSE “had been working with the social partners through the health forum for the last few months”.

Today’s hearing also involves SIPTU, the Irish Nurses Organisation, the Irish Medical Organisation and other unions.