Discussions between unions and Government officials in a dispute over staffing levels ended after 2am this morning at the Workplace Relations Commission.
Over 80,000 workers are set to begin work to rule action on Monday, while staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital plan to strike on Thursday.
Connect, Fórsa, the INMO, the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association and Unite, have balloted their members for industrial action.
Unions responded to proposals from health officials before the talks adjourned.
Proposals to allow unions to make submissions in relation to staffing requirements in the health service were tabled at the talks.
The Government side put forward a plan to invite each union to make a submission to an estimates process for future staff requirements.
Health officials also proposed that they would offer permanent jobs to 2025 graduates in health and social care professions, psychiatric nursing and nursing and midwifery grades.
They proposed to widen the scope of an insurance-based assault scheme and introduce a trainee programme in medical science.
A proposal was also made to convert agency posts to HSE jobs this year and next.
It is understood that 960 full-time positions were approved for “agency conversion” across the HSE last year, and half of these were filled to date. Management would commit to convert the balance this year and next year.
Speaking after the talks adjourned Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said unions had been at the discussions for over 14 hours.
She said they responded to proposals from the employer, and it required additional time to consider the unions’ response.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said unions had put their best efforts into drafting proposals that in their view are “sensible”.
She said their proposals put processes around recruitment and retention that are necessary and they do not increase or interfere with the HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy.
“But it is certainly asking that they prioritise certain areas that they’ve already committed to,” she said.
She said there are many agreements outstanding, including Labour Court recommendations that are not implemented.
“These are normal industrial relations issues,” she said. “And what we’re now finding is that the employer that has agreed to these is saying they need more time to consider when or how they should implement them. In our view, it’s a very serious day on Monday. It’s regrettable, but our members are very focused and they’re ready.”
She said conciliation officers have asked them to reconvene on Saturday morning.
The nursing union leader said the work to rule and work to contract will continue unless the employer gives them proposals or a response to their paper that is reasonable.
“We’ll be saying to the employer in the time they have before tomorrow, before Saturday morning, there’s a lot of thinking they have to do and if their intent is to avoid a dispute as they have stated, well then they have all the necessary ingredients to do that.”
She said she would not discuss details of changes proposed by the five unions directly involved in the dispute.
Officials from other unions with members in the health service, including the IMO and Siptu, were also in attendance at the discussions.
The HSE has said the threatened industrial action would be a breach of industrial peace provisions in the Public Service Agreement.
