Labour Court recommends HSE and union negotiate on trainee psychologist posts and pay

The Labour Court recommended that the HSE and the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union negotiate a clear agreement on trainee psychologist posts and pay-scale assimilation. The recommendation was dated 26 January 2010. The union said the HSE had not provided the agreed 50 new entrants each year. The HSE acknowledged that 50 trainees had not been appointed annually, but said progress had been made. It argued that assimilation at the fourth pay point would raise salaries from €39,525 to €60,959, while assimilation at the minimum point would increase pay by €14,458 a year. The Court found no written record of the claimed agreement or custom and practice, and no consensus on what had been agreed. It recommended that the parties negotiate on both issues and said they could refer the matter back if no agreement was reached.