Labour Court recommends ambulance service work practice changes after SIPTU and Unite dispute

The Labour Court recommended changes to HSE (Nac) ambulance service work practices after a dispute with SIPTU and Unite over overtime, long-distance journeys, overnight stops and rosters. The recommendation was signed on 3 July 2012. The Court recommended implementing the structured leave agreement, ending payments for notional journey time from 1 September 2012, and compensating resulting earnings losses under the Public Service Agreement formula. It also recommended an overnight-stop policy in consultation with the union, union agreement to management’s proposed control of early starts and late finishes, and local roster discussions around a 39-hour average working week. The unions cited existing agreements and sought to resolve outstanding issues before changes; HSE (Nac) said the proposals aligned with the Public Service Agreement and payment should reflect hours actually worked.