Expert group recommends a 3% pay rise for senior grade nurses in Ireland

DUBLIN: Government-appointed panel of experts recommends 3% pay hike for nurses in senior grades. The team of experts was tasked with resolving differences in payments pointed out as part of last year’s nurses’ strike settlement. The increase is part of a compromise formula for the 2019 strike.

It is hoped that this will lead to new improved contracts with higher salaries for thousands of staff nurses and midwives. Higher pay will pave the way for nurses in senior positions to restore the pay gap that existed before the 2019 strike and the pay of those in lower positions.

The increase is recommended as part of the first module of the expert review committee set up by the government last summer. The review group recommended that higher-grade nurses’ salaries be increased by more than 3 per cent to restore the pay gap.

The Committee recommends that this new pay increase be in addition to the one per cent increase set by the Pay Commission for October 2021 and the one per cent increase for October 2022.

Last Friday, the government and the trade unions reached a new salary agreement for public service staff. The government has set aside a total of €237million to implement the pay commission report if approved by the unions.

With the new recommendation, the total salary of senior nurses in Ireland will increase by 5% by October 2022.

Meanwhile, the demand of the opposition and trade unions to pay the salaries of student nurses who served in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic has put pressure on the government.

Not everyone is happy with the new deal

As per the proposed pay commission agreement, 3,40,000 government employees in the country will get one per cent pay hike in October 2021 and one per cent pay hike in October 2022. The contract is valid for two years. The unions believe that by May-June 2022, negotiations on a new arrangement could begin. But the latest news is that not all categories of employees are happy with the new contract.

Ahead of Monday’s executive meeting, the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers in the Defence Forces (RACO) alleged that the pay reform had been neglected. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has been criticized for not fulfilling the promises made in the negotiations for the proposed agreement. The National Executive Committee is meeting today to discuss these issues. The INMO has also not taken a completely positive stance on the Pay Commission recommendations.

Meanwhile, the Public Service Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will meet on Tuesday to vote on the new agreement. The new agreement can take effect only if the proposed new agreement is approved by all members of the affiliated organizations.