The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has said a new draft contract for senior hospital doctors drawn up this week by health service management would not be accepted by members if put to a general meeting.
In its first public comment on the new draft contract, the IHCA said that the new management document was less attractive than a similar one which it rejected several months ago.
The IHCA said that among the issues of concern for it were the proposed hours of work, changes to eligibility regulations and advocacy rights, as well as the operation of co-located hospitals.
It said that consultants were being asked to work longer hours at unsocial times for a lower hourly rate of pay.
Under the management's proposals, consultants would work a 39-hour week. They would be rostered to work between 7am and 10pm on weekdays. In some specialities, management is seeking to have consultants in hospitals 24 hours a day. Consultants would also be rostered to work in hospitals over weekends and bank holidays.
Management has offered salary scales of €198,000- €216,000 for consultants working exclusively in public hospitals. Those with limited private practice rights would earn €175,000-€190,000. Existing consultants opting to retain off-site private practice rights would receive €156,000-€171,000 a year.
The IHCA said that the Irish health service had recruited and retained world-class consultants, but that the proposals currently on offer would "make that much more difficult in the future".
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said that there were seven or eight proposals in the draft contract that either had not been discussed at all or only in a limited fashion in the recent talks with management.
The IMO's director of industrial relations, Fintan Hourihan, said that its negotiators would be seeking clarification from the chairman of the talks process at a meeting on Friday as to the status of the draft contract. He said the IMO would be asking whether the draft contract formed the basis for further negotiations.
The talks' independent chairman, Mark Connaughton, is expected to report in the next few days on whether he believes a basis exists for a deal on a new contract.
The IHCA briefed Mr Connaughton on its concerns about the draft contract yesterday. He is expected to meet management today and the IMO on Friday.
