A NATIONAL nurses' strike now appears inevitable following a meeting of more than 400 Irish Nursing Organisation (INO) shop stewards in Dublin.
The mood of the meeting was so angry that the INO president, Ms Anne Cody, had to give assurances that there would be no further deferment of the long-awaited strike ballot even if a possibility of new talks emerged.
However, the likelihood of talks seemed remote last night. At the day-long meeting in a Ballsbridge hotel yesterday, shop stewards made it clear they wanted a completely new deal, not merely a tinkering with the £50 million package INO members rejected two weeks ado.
Earlier on RTE, the general secretary of the organisation, Mr P.J. Madden, suggested that concessions of another £5 million would go a long way towards resolving grievances. However, after the meeting there was no sign that delegates would settle for such a modest sum.
Among the demands put forward were a new maximum salary for staff nurses of £25 000 a year, with £30,000 for ward sisters. The current top of the scale for staff nurses is £17,747, with an offer of £20,350 next June for those with over 15 years of service. Ward sisters can now earn £20,144 and are being offered £23,624 from next June.
Early retirement for all nurses at 55 is also back on the agenda. At present, only 600 early retirement applications will be made available under a pilot scheme lasting three years. The meeting a called for the complete withdrawal of proposals to introduce a lower starting grade for entrants to nursing.
A final decision on whether there should be a strike mandate will be taken by the INO council today. Mr Madden said after yesterday's meeting that there was "a very emphatic demand for strike action. And, quite frankly, a feeling that we've deferred a strike for too long".
The meeting was closed to the media. The mood was not only for industrial action but for a national strike. There were even calls to suspend emergency cover, which has traditionally been provided during disputes.
Despite the fact that 40 per cent of the INO members balloted on the last offer voted to accept, shop stewards leaving the meeting said they were "very united" in calling for the strike.
"We're very angry. We're very positively for a strike," said one Dublin shop steward. "We're ready for it and fully aware of the consequences.
"We are capable of crippling the system and cripple it we will," said another.
What was surprising was that both women had long service that would entitle them to increases of up to 14 per cent under the rejected pay offer. However, both were concerned for younger staff nurses, "the one to eights" (those with less than nine years' service), who would have received no increase in the rejected £50 million package.
After the meeting, the INO deputy general secretary, Mr Liam Doran, said the council would now have to initiate the strike process.
It is likely to be January before industrial action begins. Under INO rules a two-thirds majority is needed before strike action can be undertaken. Shop stewards leaving yesterday's meeting were in no doubt they would get it.