Efforts to end the dispute by non-consultant hospital doctors over work rosters are due to get under way at the Labour Relations Commission on Friday.
The conciliation talks will coincide with the expected outcome of the Irish Medical Organisation's ballot of its junior doctor members in the hospitals in support of a national industrial dispute up to and including strike action.
Notwithstanding the result of the ballot, which is expected to overwhelmingly support the union's stance in the dispute, a truce has been agreed until September 16th.
This, it is hoped, will facilitate agreement on new rosters at Waterford General and Tullamore General hospitals before the deadline for all-out action.
The Labour Court, meanwhile, is to begin separate hearings on the issue of overtime payments and rates for hospital doctors, on September 5th.
An agenda has been agreed between the IMO and the Health Services Employers Agency on the issues to be debated at Friday's LRC talks and the specific matters to be tackled. Strong emphasis is expected to be placed at the outset on agreement on a series of dates on which any consensus may be implemented.
The dispute arose when management brought in new rosters "unilaterally", according to the IMO, last month, in line with moves towards implementation of the EU directive on working time.
The net effect, said the junior doctors, would be to prevent them having their basic 39-hour week focused on the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. period, Monday to Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday - crucially important for "training" opportunities with consultants. In addition the rosters would mean reduced overtime.
In support of their junior colleagues, the IMO consultants called the changes a "breach of long-standing agreements".
Meanwhile nurses at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, agreed to suspend a lunch-time protest yesterday in St Clare's ward, one of the busiest units in the hospital, as they were about to implement a work-to-rule.
The work-to-rule was to be in protest over cutbacks in support staff by ward management. Instead, an agreement has been reached between the hospital management and the Irish Nurses' Organisation brokered by the Labour Relations Commission, to participate in conciliation talks today.
Soon after the protest began, at 2 p.m. yesterday, progress was reported which resulted in the nurses agreeing to suspend their planned work-to-rule. "This has resulted in St Clare's ward having its night duty staffing complement restored to agreed levels," according to the INO's industrial relations officer, Mr Philip McAnenly.
The dispute was prompted by a management decision to remove a nurse's aide from the night duty roster at St Clare's, which acts as a "clearing house" for private patients at St Vincent's admitted through the casualty department.