Industrial action which threatened to cripple the Government's plans to introduce large-scale healthcare reforms from the beginning of January was suspended yesterday.
The action, which has been ongoing for nearly two weeks, resulted in members of the IMPACT trade union, which represents 25,000 healthcare staff, many of them working for health boards, refusing to co-operate with the changes being planned.
Under the changes planned, a new Health Service Executive (HSE) will take over the day-to- day running of the health service from health boards and the Department of Health on New Year's Day. But IMPACT members claimed there had been no agreement reached with health board workers that their jobs and working conditions would be protected when the health boards are abolished.
Following several days of talks between IMPACT and the Health Service Employers Agency, facilitated by former ICTU president Mr Phil Flynn, IMPACT announced yesterday afternoon that it was suspending its industrial action.
This means the reform plans can go ahead as scheduled on January 1st. However, for the first six months of 2005 existing health board chief executives will continue to manage services in their own regions, in tandem with the HSE, and report to the HSE acting chief executive Mr Kevin Kelly.
IMPACT's Mr Kevin Callinan said the union had been able to negotiate safeguards over jobs and working conditions for members.
He said a detailed framework agreement had been signed off. "This agreement means that all health workers will be now treated with respect in the new system, with job security and a guarantee that pay and working conditions will not deteriorate.
"We have translated vague declarations by the interim HSE into firm written commitments and safeguards. And, if there are disagreements over interpretation of the agreement, an independent facilitator will have the last word, not the HSE. Now staff can get on with delivering health services instead of worrying about their future," he said.
The framework agreement, he added, explicitly states that health workers' jobs will remain "until they reach the retirement age stated in their contract, save in the case of dismissal in accordance with agreed disciplinary procedures".
On work location, it says that "staff will continue to work in their present location" with any relocations required for health service reconfiguration done on the basis of consultation and individual choice. It also reaffirms existing grading structures and pension.