Nurses in CareDoc and SouthDoc services have voted overwhelmingly to undertake industrial action over the failure of their employers to address a claim for parity of pay with public service employees undertaking identical roles.
This issue has far-reaching implications for the vital out-of-hours services CareDoc and SouthDoc members provide.
Speaking on behalf of SouthDoc members, INMO Industrial Relations Officer Liam Conway said:
It is completely unacceptable that no payments have been made to INMO members working in SouthDoc. Our members working in these services are close to a 20% pay gap by the end of the lifetime of the current public sector agreement. This is unfair and unjustifiable and is leading to significant retention issues in a service that provides a critical out of hours service. These strong views of members in SouthDoc and CareDoc show the importance of reaching an agreement with this employer in order avoid industrial action as we enter the winter months.
Speaking on the CareDoc issue, Gráinne Walsh, INMO Industrial Relations Officer said:
Out of hours services prevent unnecessary admissions to emergency departments. This group of workers are essential and long deserve to have equal pay like their counterparts in the public sector and should not continue to be ignored. They voted for industrial action and are calling on the employer to provide pay alignment for GP out of hours nurses.