Nurses and midwives working in University Hospital Kerry and West Kerry Community hospital; have expressed their discontent with the delay in payment of the Pandemic Recognition Payment.
This comes as their employer, the South/South West Hospital Group & Cork Kerry Community Healthcare have delayed the payment date for the Pandemic Recognition Payment from the 30th of June to July 14th with little notice. The INMO have sought clarity for payment date from employers.
INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Liam Conway said:
Nurses and midwives in University Hospital Kerry and West Kerry Community hospital feel extremely let down by their employers who have made a last minute decision to delay paying the Pandemic Recognition Payment until the middle of July.
It is unacceptable to this trade union that both employers have continuously delayed on this long-awaited payment to our members who stepped up in the middle of a global pandemic that was and continues to be full of unknowns.
The hospital group informed staff that they expected the Pandemic Recognition Payment to be paid on the 30th of June. Many nurses and midwives calculated this expected payment into their budgets. For this payment to be delayed now is completely unacceptable.
It is difficult enough to retain nurses and midwives in this area, and the delaying of this payment is just another own goal by the HSE.
Hospitals have known exactly how this payment would have to be made since April, it is not good enough to continue to delay.