Labour Court rejects porters’ claim over patient lifting duties

In 1997, the Labour Court declined to recommend that Beaumont Hospital concede the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s claim about porters’ patient lifting and turning duties. The recommendation was signed on 19 December 1997. The union said porters were spending an unreasonable amount of time lifting and turning patients and that ward attendants should do more of the work. Management cited an agreement that porters would help when requested, the introduction of hoists and the hiring of extra porters. The Court said the dispute arose from a breakdown in communication, accepted that porters believed they were being asked to take on extra duties, but found the number of lifts was not excessive. It urged management to be sensitive to the situation.