Health chiefs hit out at recruitment freeze claims

Health chiefs tonight dismissed claims of a recruitment freeze over the last four months.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) called on 28,000 workers to withdraw a threat of industrial action, maintaining it caused unnecessary concern to patients.

The Impact trade union members have voted for a work to rule and possible strike action from May 21.

Kevin Callinan, Impact national secretary, said a staffing freeze was having a devastating effect on services and staff and that there had been overwhelming support for the action in a national ballot – the largest of its kind ever undertaken by the union.

“The effect of the cuts has so far varied, depending on where vacancies have arisen, but it’s only a matter of time before all services and staff are affected,” he said.

But a spokesman for the HSE stressed there was no embargo on recruitment since January.

“There are arrangements in place to enable posts to be filled,” he said.

“Since January 2008, over 900 posts have been approved to be filled by Employment Monitoring Groups set up in January 2008. Recruitment continues to happen.”

Impact maintained the HSE ignored or refused to implement agreements, undermining a wide range of working conditions, including cover for absences, promotions, acting up and career break returns.

It claimed the freeze was imposed in January, allowing only critical frontline vacancies, which had already opened, to be filled when a separate, unrelated position became vacant.

In a letter to the HSE, the union said staff will refuse to cover posts or carry out tasks, functions or responsibilities linked to posts not filled by the recruitment freeze.

Members, including health professionals and therapists, social workers, administrative and managerial staff and a small number of nurses, will not co-operate with HSE management, advisors and the agency’s transformation programme.

Mr Callinan said although the action would target management and seriously affect HSE bureaucracy, members would strive to ensure that patients did not suffer unnecessarily.

Martin McDonald, National Director of Human Resources with the HSE, said the action was regrettable.

“The HSE calls on Impact, which represents managers and other grades, to withdraw the threat of industrial action and invites it to engage in dialogue with a view to agreeing measures which can be implemented to ensure the health service lives within its budget in 2008,” he said.

He stressed the HSE was required to deliver health services within the financial resources provided by the Government for 2008.

“This poses many challenges not least of which is to ensure that resources are targeted at front-line services,” he added.

“The threat of industrial action, which is outlawed under the current national agreement, Towards 2016, is the cause of unnecessary concern and worry to those who avail of both community and hospital services.”

The HSE said that on receipt of the formal notice from Impact, it will seek to meet with the union to be informed as to the nature of the proposed action and to consider contingency plans to protect services to patients/service users.

Impact said staff had been angered at shortcomings in healthcare and the dissatisfaction with the HSE’s recruitment embargo had come to a head.

“As well as curtailing existing services, the freeze has delayed promised improvements in areas like primary care, mental health services and care for older people,” added Mr Callinan.

“Our members find this intolerable, and experience tells us that more cuts in services and staffing are likely unless we take a stand.”