Labour Court defers nurses’ regularisation claim pending national talks

The Labour Court recommended deferring the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation’s claim to regularise two nurses in acting-up posts at St. Finbarr’s Hospital in Cork for six months. Its recommendation was signed on 28 October 2011. The union said the nurses had spent more than five years in the posts and should qualify under a 2008 agreement allowing conversion after three years. The Health Service Executive (South) argued that a government moratorium and the Public Service Agreement prevented local negotiations with national implications. The Court said the union’s case had merit but did not make a definitive recommendation while national talks continued. If a national agreement was reached, the nurses’ cases should be handled under it; otherwise, the union’s claim should be considered on its own merits. The HSE confirmed they would remain in their acting positions in the meantime.