Doctors, nurses and midwives to accept public service pay agreement
More of the country's biggest public service unions have voted in favour of the latest pay deal.
The Civil, Public and Services Union says its members voted by 72% to accept the agreement.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Irish Medical Organisation also accepted the deal today.
It makes it more likely that the agreement will be ratified when the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions meets on Monday.
75% of the members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) have voted to accept the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020.
The ballot took place over the last three weeks with three quarters of the members taking the recommendation from the organisation's Executive Council to vote in favour of the agreement.
The INMO will now attend the meeting of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Monday,
The organisation is now seeking immediate engagement in identifying measures to tackle the nursing and midwifery recruitment and retention crises.
INMO President Martina Harkin-Kelly said:
"The INMO will be requiring, through the processes now clarified, progress on all measures required to address the nursing/midwifery recruitment and retention crisis which continues to haunt our health service.
The INMO has agreed that the necessary actions, to improve the relative pay position of nurses and midwives so that we can retain them in this country."
INMO General Secretary Designate Ms. Phil Ni Sheaghdha said:
"The government and health service management have one further opportunity, under this agreement, to address our parity claim, with other degree level health professionals, and any failure, or hesitancy to do so, will not be tolerated by our members."
85% of members from the Irish Medical Organisation, which represents doctors in Ireland, also voted in favour of the agreement.
IMO President Dr Ann Hogan said there remains serious concerns amongst doctors in relation to the crisis of recruitment and retention of doctors in our public health services.
