The Irish Nurses' Organisation has instructed members not to agree to be rostered over the millennium bank holiday until staffing levels and pay rates have been agreed. Talks are due to begin next Monday on the level of cover to be provided within the health services during the celebrations.
Earlier this year holiday leave during the millennium was cancelled by management for all 70,000 health service workers. Although the Health Service Employers' Agency has described this as a precautionary measure, while management assesses the level of demand that could arise, it has been widely condemned by the unions.
All the health service unions are due to meet the HSEA on Monday to begin negotiations on levels of cover and pay during the millennium. The expectations of health service workers have been heightened by the HSEA agreeing in principle to information technology specialists engaged in Y2K work for the health boards receiving "loyalty payments".
Details of the scheme for IT specialists have yet to be finalised, but they will be based on the formula for the Civil Service. Most of the key staff will be entitled to payments of about £11,000. Between 100 and 200 people are likely to receive the bonus.
No specific amounts have yet been sought by nurses, paramedics, non-consultant hospital doctors, porters, caterers and other staff. Nurses, who form the largest single group, are expected to look for between £500 and £1,000 for working over the millennium.
The INO's industrial relations executive, Mr David Hughes, said yesterday the unions involved would be acting collectively on this issue. He also said management had to specify what staffing levels were required before serious talks could begin on payments.
The HSEA and the Department of Finance have argued that only people working will receive anything, and that this will be the normal bank holiday rate for the job. The unions will be pressing for extra premiums, plus a payment for health workers on call during the millennium celebrations.
The IMPACT national officer for the union's health division, Mr Kevin Callinan, said yesterday the problem had to be resolved soon. If "realistic agreements on attendance and availability, and suitable compensation, are not reached relatively quickly", IMPACT would be organising meetings to plan for a dispute by early autumn.
A major complicating factor in the negotiations is that the Labour Court recommendation on nurses' pay is due on August 31st. A dispute on this issue could rapidly overtake and aggravate the row over millennium payments.