Enhanced salary scale now applies In IR Update this month, Tony Fitzpatrick, INMO director of industrial relations, urges members to check their payslip
to withdraw or curtail due to understaffing. However, no answer was forthcoming. The INMO warned Saolta management that they should be “gravely concerned” due to the high levels of missed care, delayed care and poor patient outcomes arising from the number of nursing and mid- wifery vacancies. The union estimates there are more than 200 such vacancies in the Saolta group alone. Anne Burke, INMO IRO for For example, if you were due an increment on October 1, 2019 and you are currently on point 5 of the salary scale, you will go to point 6 on the staff nurse/midwife scale and then migrate onto the enhanced nurse/midwife scale. The application process involves completing the HSE HR form, which is attached at appendix 2 of the circular. The form must be signed by your director of nursing/midwifery and your local HR unit. Assimilation to the enhanced nurse/midwife salary scale will occur on an individual’s incre- ment date and is subject to submission of a completed and signed contract to the local HR department. The contract is the contract that was suc- cessfully negotiated by the INMO further to the Labour Court Recommendation. The INMO has prepared a full com- parison document of present contracts of employment, to the proposed contract which is available on www.inmo.ie . There has been some misin- formation circulating about the probationary period. Please be clear that in section 3.3 of the
Galway, Mayo and Roscom- mon, said: “There are 64 staff nurse vacancies in UH Galway and a further 20 in Mayo UH. Understaffing like this is a recipe for disaster. We provided management with specific examples of missed care and impacts on patients, but services have still not been cur- tailed to ensure safe staffing.” Maura Hickey, INMO IRO in the North West, said: “Nurses and midwives are struggling daily to deliver safe care in Senior staff nurse/midwife Those eligible for senior staff nurse/midwife status should apply as normal in September and October each year. Eligi- bility for senior staff nurse/ midwife status is now at 17 years, rather than 20 years. Therefore, as a result of the eligibility period being three years shorter, individuals with 20 years, 19 years, 18 years and 17 years service are eligi- ble to apply for the senior staff nurse/midwife this year. Those meeting the qualifying criteria contract, it clearly states that “where you have already com- pleted a probationary period with the employer or have completed 12 months tem- porary employment with the employer, no period of proba- tion applied to this contract of employment”. To be clear, assimilation onto the new enhanced nurse/ midwife salary scale occurs on everyone’s increment date. Assimilation will be to the near- est cost point upwards on the enhanced nurse/midwife salary scale immediately thereafter on that date. Individual increment dates will not change.
unsafe environments. Other hospitals have closed beds due to unfilled vacancies – it’s time for a similar approach in the Saolta group.” Dean Flanagan, IRO in the Midlands, said: “Nurses and midwives in Portiuncula UH are in a critical situation. The hospital is often crammed full, while patients and staff await a new unit to be built. Bed clo- sures in Tullamore hospital will only increase the pressure on Portiuncula.” Public health nurses, com- munity RGNs and community RMs currently in receipt of a specialist qualification allowance, should see that allowance increase by 20% to €3,350 per annum. Members should check their payslip to ensure that they have received retrospective payment of this increase back to March 1, 2019. PHNs not currently in receipt of a specialist qualification allowance are now entitled to a location allowance worth €2,230 retrospective to March 1, 2019. specified in section 1.2 of the contract will be entitled to go on to the senior enhanced nurse/midwife salary scale. The national circulars have been issued to payroll depart- ments, therefore your local line managers and HR departments should be implementing these. If you require any clarification or need any assistance, do not hesitate to contact the INMO at Tel: 01 664 0600. Community allowances Several circulars have issued by the HSE to implement the settlement terms further to the recent INMO strike.
INMO officials have warned that understaffed services must be curtailed for safety reasons in several hospitals in the Saolta University Health- care Group. The a f fe c t ed ho s p i t a l s include Galway, Letterkenny, Mayo, Merlin Park, Portiuncula, Roscommon, and Sligo Univer- sity Hospitals. INMO officials met with senior hospital group man- agement to establish which services the group planned HSE HR circular 022/2019 implements the enhanced nurse/midwife salary scale. This applies retrospectively to March 1, 2019 and therefore, individu- als who have progressed on the increment scale since March 1, 2019 and who have reached the fourth point of the staff nurse/midwife salary scale should apply to go on to the enhanced nurse/midwife scale. Staff whose increment dates are due should ensure to apply for the enhanced scale. The process is that you would move from your current point on the scale to the next point on the staff nurse/midwife scale and migrate onto the enhanced nurse/midwife scale at the next upward point. All grades of nurses and mid- wives received a pay rise of 1.75% on September 1, 2019. Members are advised to ensure they are being paid correctly – see opposite page for the updated salary scales. In recent weeks, the HSE issued two circulars which allow implementation of the two Labour Court Recommen- dations and strike settlement secured by the INMO.
Alarm at unsafe understaffing at Saolta hospitals
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