THE trade union Impact has warned that the creation of a proposed nurses' commission would not by itself be enough to avert a strike.
The union's national secretary for health, Ms Christina Carney, said that only an urgent resolution of the pay issue could halt the current movement towards industrial action. Having balloted a majority of its nursing members, Impact estimates that over 90 per cent of nurses are in favour of a strike.
"Nurses have rejected two improved pay offers and voted overwhelmingly for strike action. Anyone who thinks they would be satisfied simply by the establishment of a commission doesn't understand the depth of nurses' anger and frustration," said Ms Carney. "Only money will now avert a strike."
Interest in a commission, first proposed in November by the SIPTU general secretary, Mr Bill Attley, has increased in recent weeks. The original idea involved examining the pay issue in the context of major technological and work practice changes.
The national nursing official in SIPTU, Mr Noel Downing, agreed that the commission on its own would not prevent a strike, but said that it would be "a very important part of any settlement." Without it, the same problems would recur.