07/04/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU calls for investment in healthcare workers on World Health Day

To mark World Health Day (7th April), the SIPTU Health Division has called for more investment in the working conditions of all healthcare workers to be prioritised. Union members are seeking to end the unfair system in which support workers in the public health service receive less financial supports than other healthcare colleagues when they are the victim of an assault in the workplace. SIPTU members are also seeking a replacement scheme to financially assist those are suffering with the impact of Long Covid and fair pay for workers in Section 39 agencies.

SIPTU’s Health Divisional Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “World Health Day is an opportune time for us to reflect on the role that all healthcare workers play in the provision of health services in the State and to consider how they might be appropriately remunerated for the essential services they provide.

“SIPTU has been leading the campaign to end the unjust system in which healthcare workers who are employed as support workers do not receive the same level of financial support as their other healthcare colleagues if they are assaulted in the workplace. This policy has no place in a modern healthcare system which should respect the contribution and work of all healthcare workers equally.

“SIPTU and our colleague health unions are also still awaiting an engagement at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) regarding our claim for a replacement scheme to assist healthcare workers who are suffering with the impact of Long Covid. Healthcare workers, who stood on the frontline of the pandemic on behalf of the public, deserve assistance when dealing with the chronic impact of Long Covid.

“SIPTU is also actively campaigning for a fair resolution on the matter of pay justice for Section 39 workers. It is beyond belief that workers who are providing essential frontline services on behalf of the State are still waiting for this matter be dealt with in a fair and just manner.”

“There is no healthcare system without the workers that provide the services on which we all depend. All workers in the health service matter. Investment in the working conditions of healthcare workers is fundamental to building a decent healthcare system.”

05/04/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Unions to attend WRC do discuss pay for staff in community and voluntary health and care services

The three unions representing staff working in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the HSE – SIPTU, Fórsa, and the INMO – have confirmed the unions will attend the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Monday 17th April.

The WRC meeting will mark the commencement of conciliation talks on the long-standing problem of pay terms for staff working in HSE-funded agencies providing health and care services.

While funded by the State, employees in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts.

SIPTU divisional organiser Kevin Figgis said: “The health minister acknowledged in the Dáil last October that the Government is the ‘main and often sole funder’ of these organisations, and that its funding affects the ability of agencies to improve pay and conditions. That acknowledgement means these talks must happen, and that a fair and sustainable solution is achieved.”

SIPTU’s divisional organiser Karan O’Loughlin added: “These pay disparities continue to have a detrimental effect on staff recruitment and retention, and ultimately on the capacity of these organisations to deliver services. It’s therefore crucial that we enter discussions with the funding bodies in order to resolve it once and for all,” she said.

Fórsa national secretary Ashley Connolly commented: “Our members across this sector continue to deliver vital services on behalf of the State, and so we welcome the opportunity to enter conciliation talks.

“The unions continue to work together on this issue and remain determined to secure a just and sustainable solution to the pay disparities for specialist staff in this sector,” she said.

The INMO’s director of industrial relations Albert Murphy said: “We welcomed the news last week that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Department of Health, confirmed they would attend the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) along with the HSE, in future conciliation talks.

“It provided some badly needed progress. Unions have a shared and very clear idea of the scale of the problem. We remain determined to engage on the basis of making sure these agencies are sustainably funded and that the drift on pay and conditions is finally reversed after almost 15 years,” he said.

Until 2008, workers in these agencies received pay increases under national wage agreements. At the onset of the financial crisis they were subject to FEMPI pay cuts in line with the same cuts applied to public sector pay.

Limited pay restoration measures were eventually won by unions in 2019 but pay in these agencies remains significantly behind, and no formal mechanism for collective pay bargaining exists for workers in the sector.

Last week the unions confirmed they had served fresh pay claims on a number of employers in the sector.

15/03/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU calls on Minister for Health to end disparity in payments to assaulted healthcare workers

SIPTU representatives have written to the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, today (Wednesday, 15th March), seeking action by him to address the disparity in payments to public healthcare workers who are victims of serious physical assault in the workplace.

SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “SIPTU representatives highlighted the disparity in payments to healthcare workers who are victims of serious physical assault at a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health in February.

“We highlighted the fact that under the HSE Serious Physical Assault Scheme, healthcare support workers are only eligible to receive payments for three months while other grades may receive payments for up to a year, even if they are assaulted in the same incident. SIPTU representatives also provided statistical data that demonstrates that support workers suffer the second highest level of assaults in healthcare workplaces, after nursing staff.

“Our union had to seek the intervention of the Minister for Health on this matter. This follows our lodging of a claim to have equality for support workers under the HSE Serious Physical Assault Scheme in late 2021. While the HSE noted the merits of the claim, we were advised that it would need the sanction of the Department of Health to address our concerns. The matter has remained with the Department of Health since then with no sign of resolution or progress. As such, we have decided to call for action directly from the Minister for Health.”

He added: “There is no justification for support workers being treated any less favourably than their healthcare colleagues when they are dealing with the fallout of an assault in their workplace. We expect the Minister to now take action to resolve this completely unacceptable situation.”

22/02/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU supports Seanad motion on equality for healthcare staff assaulted at work

The SIPTU Health Division has called on all parties to back a motion that will be tabled in Seanad Éireann this evening (Wednesday, 22nd February) which calls on supports for healthcare staff, who suffer an assault in the workplace, to be based on equality of access and not the grade of the worker involved.

SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “This motion, which is being tabled by the Labour Party, calls on the government to address the issue of inequality in the treatment of healthcare workers assaulted in the workplace which was highlighted in a SIPTU submission to the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee on 8th February.

“At the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee, we highlighted the fact that healthcare workers employed as support staff within the public health service only receive 25% of the benefits that their colleagues in other grades in the event of an assault at work.

“At the hearing, SIPTU highlighted that, after their nursing colleagues, support grade staff endure the second-highest level of assaults in the workplace, according to HSE data. We also raised the fact that, according to the HSE data, 41% of support staff assaulted at work are still unfit to return after three months by which time they have exhausted their entitlements under the HSE Serious Physical Assault Scheme.

“They are then, predominately, moving to ordinary sick pay, while their colleagues employed in other grades are continuing to receive payments under the HSE Serious Physical Assault Scheme. This policy is outdated and we support the call in the motion to end this disparity.”

He added: “In addition, the motion also calls on the Government to conduct a review of all relevant protocols to ensure procedures, staffing levels and training are appropriate to minimise the risk of injury from an assault to a healthcare worker. It also calls for the development of a public awareness campaign which highlights some of the examples of assaults on healthcare workers. Both these measures were included in the SIPTU submission to the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee earlier this month.”

07/02/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU to raise disparity in support for assaulted health workers at Oireachtas Committee

SIPTU representatives will raise the disparity in supports for assaulted health sector staff at a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, tomorrow (Wednesday, 8th February). The Committee is meeting to discuss the safety and welfare of workers in the public health service.

SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “Our union welcomes the opportunity to address the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health so we can highlight some of the concerns of our members regarding their safety and welfare at work. We also want to use the opportunity to present some tangible solutions in this area.

“A key concern for our members is the disparity in financial supports available to healthcare workers based on their role within the public health service. Figures provided by the HSE demonstrate that all healthcare workers face a real threat of physical assault in the workplace. They also show that support staff, which includes healthcare assistants, porters, catering, cleaning and security staff, are the second biggest category impacted by serious physical assaults in the workplace after nurses.

“However, support staff only receive 25% of the financial supports afforded to allied health professionals, clerical officers and nursing staff, even if they are all assaulted in the same incident.

“No worker should have to face the threat of assault in the workplace. If an unfortunate incident does occur, it must be ensured that all policies designed to support workers should be based on equality of access and not grade.”

He added: “SIPTU will also raise the need to give financial assistance to healthcare workers who are diagnosed with Covid-19 or affected by Long Covid. While there was such a scheme in place for public service healthcare workers, it was withdrawn in July 2022.

“A temporary scheme is in place, but we have been advised that this will cease in July 2023. This is despite the fact that the EU Advisory Committee for Safety and Health at Work has confirmed the need to recognise Covid-19 as an occupational disease.”

“In addition, SIPTU representatives will raise the need for safe staffing levels, based on need, across all departments and concerns our members have expressed in relation to the HSE Dignity at Work policy.”

26/01/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Campaign Update – Valuing Care Valuing Community

Dear Member,

We write to you with an important update regarding the Valuing Care Valuing Community Campaign.

The story so far:
Members will be aware of the history regarding the campaign for pay justice in the Section 39, Community and Voluntary sectors.

Most recently, in July of last year workers in a number of community organisations engaged in strike action in pursuit of decent pay within their sector. This was followed by further action in September 2022 in which thirteen Section 39 agencies and community organisations took part in a day of strike action in pursuit of pay justice.

The actions were deemed to be a success. A number of high-profile public representatives publicly endorsed the campaign and called for a mechanism for addressing pay within the sector. In October, there was support across the Dáil for a Labour Party motion which called for support for the Valuing Care, Valuing Community Campaign. At the time Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Anne Rabbitte spoke in support of a process, under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission, to address the long-standing pay issue within these organisations.

SIPTU supported the call for the use of the WRC and referred the matter for conciliation in October 2022. The Union maintained pressure on all parties to attend the WRC and honour the government’s commitment to resolve this long standing pay dispute through talks. The Union confirmed to employers our members’ willingness to take further action in progression of their claim, if necessary.

Campaign Update:
There was initial resistance by relevant government agencies and departments to attend. However, only this week it was confirmed by the HSE that it would attend talks, bringing us one step closer to resolving the dispute. The Department of Social Protection has confirmed its availability to attend the WRC and an engagement is scheduled for next week.

It is important to note that the relevant parties only agreed to attend the WRC when they realised that our members, with the support of their Union, SIPTU, would accept nothing less than their fight for pay justice to be treated as anything other than a priority.

We understand that a date for talks will be issued shortly and we will endeavour to keep our members updated with regards to any developments on the campaign.

SIPTU will revert to its members in Section 39, Community and Voluntary organisations on possible next steps, if sufficient and timely progress is not made on this claim.

It is important that you speak to your colleagues about the value of being in the Union and join SIPTU as we progress the matter of pay justice in your sector.

In solidarity,

Kevin Figgis
Divisional Organiser
Health Division

Adrian Kane
Divisional Organiser
PAC Division

01/11/2022 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Sláintecare essential to reform of dysfunctional healthcare system says Shortall

Full implementation of the Sláintecare policy is essential for the effective reform of our health and social care services, Social Democrats co-leader, Róisín Shortall, told the SIPTU Health Division Biennial Delegate Conference in Waterford on Wednesday, 26th October.

Shortall said: “Sláintecare is a 10-year roadmap for reform of our health and social care services, to get us from the current two-tier unfair and unequal and in many ways dysfunctional, health service to a universal single-tier health and social care service where people can access timely care on the basis of health need and not on their ability to pay.

“The Sláintecare report was published in May 2017 so we’re now coming to the end of year five, and the question is ‘What have we got to show for it?’ The first two years consisted of lip-service from the Fine Gael government where the Minister for Health talked the talk but didn’t actually walk the walk. The term Sláintecare became a convenient brand for him to wrap himself in.

“It seemed that most senior government politicians assumed that Sláintecare would go the way of those other health reports and be forgotten. However, when it came to the general election in early 2020, Sláintecare was adopted as official policy by all parties. No one had a Plan B.”

She added: “Like many things in life, the causes of the dysfunction and inequality of our health service are down to political choices, bad choices, which favour vested interest over the public interest.”

SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said “Change is an integral part of working within the health service. Our members have demonstrated their ability to work in a changing environment over many, many years. They will not be found wanting when it comes to engaging with the implementation of Sláintecare.”

He added: “However, as we begin to grapple with what this entails, we will be doing so from the principled position that we will not be engaging with any programme that could be seen as eroding the hard-won terms and conditions that our members have fought for. SIPTU will not be engaging with any reform agenda that includes the outsourcing of our members’ roles to third parties.”

Róisín Shortall addressed the SIPTU Health Division Biennial Delegate Conference in the Tower Hotel, The Mall, Waterford City as a guest speaker on October 26th.

20/07/2022 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU seeks improved scheme to assist healthcare workers impacted by effects of Covid 19

SIPTU, and fellow health unions, are continuing to argue for a replacement scheme to Special Leave with Pay that better protects healthcare workers whose health has been impacted by Covid 19.

Following the decision to restrict the Special Leave with Pay scheme from the 30th of June 2022 to only include Government recommended isolation periods, SIPTU has sought to negotiate a new scheme for healthcare workers who cannot attend work due to a confirmed COVID infection. To date, the HSE and Department of Health has refused to negotiate on a new scheme but instead sought to impose a temporary replacement scheme on the health service.

It is understood that the terms of the replacement scheme have been issued within the HSE. There are several concerns regarding the replacement scheme, including the fact that it only covers a period of 12 months up to the 30th of June 2023 and that it will only cover healthcare workers in certain settings.

SIPTU has raised the fact that Long COVID has been confirmed as an Occupational Disease by the EU Advisory Body on Safety and Health at Work. The Union has also raised a recent case in Scotland in which Long COVID was confirmed as a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 by the Scottish Employment Tribunal.

SIPTU has argued the need for this dispute to be referred to the Workplace Relations Commission. The HSE and Department of Health are resisting those efforts. They have stated they will publish the circular to allow those covered by it to get the new payments, instead of sick leave, as soon as possible. SIPTU has advised the employers they are doing so without agreement as the Union claim remains to secure a new scheme fitting of all healthcare workers who require it.

SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said “SIPTU’s priority is ensuring that any replacement scheme to Special Leave with Pay will take account of the risks posed by Covid 19 to healthcare workers performing their duties. Health unions have sought to negotiate a new scheme for healthcare workers who cannot attend work due to a confirmed COVID infection. It is our view that the appropriate forum in which to have these discussions is at the Workplace Relations Commission. Unfortunately, the HSE and Department of Health has delayed engaging with us in such a forum. It is important to note that the withdrawal of Special Leave with Pay, and its replacement by an inferior scheme, has taken place at a time in which the World Health Organization’s European office has warned of a “challenging” autumn and winter due to a rise in Covid-19 cases in the region.”

26/05/2016 Comments are off SIPTU Health
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SIPTU meets Minister for Health to discuss role of Radiographers and Radiation Therapists

SIPTU representatives today (Thursday, 26th May) met with the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, to discuss the potential to develop the role of Radiation Therapists and Radiographers in the health service.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “At the meeting we presented the Minister with our members’ vision for the positive development of the role of Radiation Therapists and Radiographers. Advances in technology, education qualifications and state registration present an opportunity for the transformation of the manner in which scans and treatment are prescribed, performed and reported on.”

SIPTU Radiographers and Radiation Therapists National Executive President, Michele Monahan described the meeting as “positive”.

She said: “Our members believe an advancement of their role will ensure that the best use of diagnostic services is secured to the benefit of patients. We look forward to future engagement with the Minister’s office to further expand on proposals for role expansion in the health service which are included in the Programme for Government.”

SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Paul Bell said: “We informed the Minister that we are seeking to deliver sustainable solutions to the challenges health workers face every day within our health service.

“SIPTU has 45,000 members within the Nursing and Midwifery, Allied Health Professionals, National Ambulance Service and Support Grades in the health service. Our members look forward to developing a constructive working relationship with the Minister and his Department.”

Read a copy of the submission here

To download a workplace poster for our CPD day on the 11th of June click here

23/09/2015 Comments are off SIPTU Health
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SIPTU urge all Radiographers and Radiation Therapists to get State registered

All SIPTU members working as Radiographers and Radiation Therapists are being reminded to apply to register with CORU by the October 31st 2015.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, with responsibility for all Allied Health Professionals, Kevin Figgis said: “We are running an awareness campaign throughout October on SIPTUhealth.ie and social media to ensure that no member is left behind when the date closes for State registration on October 31st 2015.

Speaking to SIPTUhealth.ie Mr Figgis said: “State registration is compulsory under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 for all Radiographers and Radiation Therapists. We believe that professional registration protects patients and the strengths development of professional standards and ethics in the workplace. It underpins the need for registrants to prioritise continuous professional development as well as progressing complaints and fitness to practice.”

Mr Figgis added: “SIPTU will actively campaign throughout October to assist and support our members to register. We will also encourage all Radiographers and Radiation Therapists to join SIPTU and organise to ensure that professional registration is a positive component of their professional development in our health service.”

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