Labour Court recommends Marymount hospital concede pension scheme claim for 22 new entrants

The Labour Court recommended that Marymount University Hospital & Hospice concede the claim by INMO and SIPTU for access to its superannuation scheme for 22 new entrants. The recommendation was signed on 27 April 2015. The unions said hospital employees had historically had access to the Voluntary Hospital Superannuation Scheme and that the new entrants had less favourable terms than longer-serving colleagues. The hospital said it was funded under section 39 of the Health Act and could not grant or fund access for them. The Court regarded the hospital’s longstanding pension arrangements as equivalent to a collective agreement, which could not be changed without agreement. It also noted the exclusion was not applied to all new recruits. Further discussions with the funding agency would be needed to implement the recommendation.