AFTER an "argumentative and angry meeting" in Limerick yesterday, INO members voted by a narrow margin to defer their strike.
The decision was taken by a show of hands following a 90 minute debate. It was attended by 1200 delegates representing 1,600 members in the Mid Western Health Board area.
The delegates were non committal later and would not comment on the extra £30 million offered by the Labour Court. It was learned later that reaction was "mixed, with many delegates still in a militant mood despite the improved package.
Ms Deirdre Gillane, the INO industrial relations officer for the Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary region, stressed that the deferral for a week did not necessarily mean that the offer would be accepted.
"There has been an evolution in nursing and nurses are far more aware that their pay and conditions have been neglected over the years," she said.
The meeting acknowledged the Labour Court offer, but felt some sections were still left behind including public health nurses and managerial grades. Promotions early retirement and dual qualifications were also big issues.
The staff nurses were offered an improvement, but the knock on effects for their promotional grades were lacking. The delegates, however, welcomed the Labour Court recommendation or the setting up of a commission.
Members were still unhappy with the precondition of 35 years service for early retirement at 55. Many nurses would not have served that many years by age 55, it was said.
Ms Gillane observed: "It was a tough meeting and the nurses were more than prepared to go on strike in the morning. The meeting, in order to respect the Labour Court's recommendations, voted for a deferral, but not a postponement of the strike, to give each member an opportunity to ballot on the offer."
The delegates were angry at the SIPTU decision to defer strike action. As the INO is the largest union, representing 16,000 members, they considered that SIPTU should have waited for their decision.