Health unions agree to talks on extended hours

Health service unions have said they are willing in principle to discuss moves by health service management to introduce an extended working day for staff to run from 8am to 8pm.

However, the unions maintained that controversial proposals put forward by management last week, namely that Saturdays and Sundays would form part of the basic week for certain grades - the so-called 5/6 and 5/7 day working week - would not form part of any discussions on the extended week.

At a meeting last week the unions also signalled that they would be pursuing claims for "appropriate compensation" for staff agreeing to any such changes in working conditions.

The Irish Times revealed last Friday that management is seeking that all new staff appointed in the health service should work more flexible rosters, which would see them start work earlier in the day or finish later in the evening.

In a document circulated last Thursday, management also said it wanted union agreement to allow local discussions to take place with existing employees "where there is a defined and urgent need to implement revised work practices".

Grades that would be affected by the proposed reforms include non-consultant hospital doctors, medical staff employed in public health or community health settings, as well as personnel in dental, nursing, health and social care, craft and clerical and administrative areas.

In the document, management indicated it wanted to move away from the traditional working day of 9am-5pm.

It said it was clear "that in certain situations attendance patterns do not reflect value for money, nor indeed are they reflective of a service which operates on a 24/7 basis.

"Management is now seeking agreement to conduct a review of service delivery arrangements with a view to eliminating inefficient attendance arrangements and implementing attendance patterns which will assist improved operational performance and service provision," it said.

Management said there was provision in the national agreement, Towards 2016, for the introduction of an extended working day in the health sector.

It is understood that in response to the management proposals, the unions said that a nine-month timeframe was a realistic target for the conclusion of negotiations on this issue.

They maintained that while the national agreement provided for such talks to be completed by last March, the delay in commencing these discussions had been entirely the fault of the employer side.

The unions argued that there could be no change in the contractual terms for new entrants, as had been sought by the employer side, pending an overall agreement.

The unions said they would not tolerate management seeking to invite expressions of interest from employees who wished to change their work attendance pattern while national-level negotiations continued.

The unions also said existing premium payments would have to continue to be paid for the duration of negotiations.

It is expected that management and the overall group of health sector unions will meet again in April to consider the extended day issue. In the meantime, talks will be held between the employer side and unions representing individual grades.