Labour Court recommends review of nurses’ and other staff’s earnings losses

The Labour Court recommended that HSE WEST and the unions assess any earnings losses after the reconfiguration of accident and emergency services had operated for 12 months. The recommendation was signed on 20 July 2009. The changes meant 24-hour emergency services would be provided only at Limerick Regional Hospital, affecting nurses, radiographers and EMTs in Nenagh, Ennis and St John’s. INO, SIPTU and MLSA said workers had cooperated with the changes and suffered lost earnings. HSE WEST cited financial restraints and said it lacked resources to compensate them. The Court recommended that losses be assessed using adjusted average payments in the three years before the reconfiguration, taking account of opportunities to offset or mitigate them. The parties should then discuss the losses in light of budgetary circumstances and the employer’s past practice. The unions should cooperate with the continuing reconfiguration.