Vaccine Boosters
A week has passed since I wrote to the Chief Medical Officer and the Chairperson of the National Immunisation Advisory Council asking them to recommend that nurses, midwives, and other patient-facing healthcare workers receive their booster vaccine as a matter of priority. It is completely unacceptable that no decision has been made in regard to when exactly you will receive your booster.
Nurses and midwives across the country are working in dangerous conditions where many of your colleagues are once again contracting COVID-19. We believe that under the law, your employer has a legal responsibility to provide you with a booster vaccine to ensure you have every protection possible.
A response from NIAC was received this morning:
Our reply to same has issued this afternoon- we continue to peruse this matter as it remains unacceptable that the risk continues.
Student Nurses and Midwives Demo
Next Tuesday the 2nd of November at 1 pm, student nurses and midwives will gather outside the Dáil to show the Government how dissatisfied they have been with their treatment throughout the pandemic. You may recall the Government commissioned an independent review of student nurses' and midwives’ pay earlier this year. This report has been sitting on the Minister for Health’s desk since August 12th and has yet to be shared with any interested parties. This isn’t good enough. Our student nurses and midwives are the future of the healthcare service. They need to be treated well from when they first go on placement to graduation so they see Ireland as a place to start their careers.
Your support online over the coming days would be appreciated on the hashtag #PayStudentNursesAndMidwives
Nurse and Midwife Manager Pay Differential Update
In terms of issues affecting nurse and midwife managers, you will be aware that arising from the settlement of our dispute the first task for the Expert Group was to establish independently the differential created arising from the Enhanced Practice Scale. They have reported on that matter and we are on schedule for the payment of a 3.28% pay increase to nurse and midwife managers as part of the Sectoral Bargaining process under Building Momentum which is due for payment in February 2022.
Additionally, the next phase of the Expert Review Group on Nursing and Midwifery is also considering a range of structural issues which affect nurse and midwife managers. As previously reported we have made comprehensive submissions to the Group on a range of issues affecting all grades of nurse and midwife manager in all services. We have also written to the Chair of the Expert Group seeking a date for the publication of their report as we understand they are approaching the end of their deliberations. We will be reporting further on this issue shortly.
ICTU Biennial Delegate Congress Update
Earlier this week the INMO President, Karen McGowan, Executive Council members, and some INMO staff attended the Biennial Delegate Conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in person in Belfast. We also had a virtual delegation who gathered in the Richmond to participate in the conference.
Karen and Lynda Moore spoke brilliantly on your behalf on the safe-staffing mix and better protections for nurses and midwives against abuse in the workplace.
Following the elections to the new Executive Council of ICTU,I have been elected as the Vice-President of ICTU, this is a significant position of influence which the INMO has never held before. It is an honor for me to represent your needs and interests at the very top table of Congress. Our Deputy General Secretary Designate Edward Mathews has also been elected to the Council. The INMO now has an even more significant influence at the top table of the Irish trade union movement and this will be a benefit to all in our profession.