Labour Court recommends new nursing allowances of £1,000 and £1,500 a year

The Labour Court recommended annual allowances of £1,000 for nurses working in recognised locations and £1,500 for those working in duties appropriate to special certificates or qualifications. The recommendation was signed on 9 February 1999. The Court also recommended adding midwifery and sick children's nursing to the dual qualification scale, from 1 August 1998, for nurses who held those qualifications or were in appropriate postgraduate training on 1 October 1996. Nurses eligible for both the dual qualification scale and the qualification allowance would receive only the higher payment while working in qualifying duties. The dispute was brought by the Nursing Alliance, representing the Irish Nurses' Organisation, Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union, and Psychiatric Nurses' Association, against the Department Of Health And Children. Other claims could be raised in discussions on implementing the Commission on Nursing report, which the parties were to complete by 1 May 1999.