Unions vote on recommendations to end nursing dispute
The two nursing unions in dispute with the Health Service Executive are set to ballot their members today on proposals aimed at ending their industrial action.
More than 40,000 members of the Irish Nurses Organisation and Psychiatric Nurses Association have been on a work-to-rule protest for several weeks.
They have held a string of work stoppages as part of their campaign for a 10% pay rise and a 35-hour working week.
Today, the two unions will ballot their members on proposals to reduce the working week from 39 hours to 37.5 hours by June of next year.
The recommendations also include an independent body to examine how a 35-hour week can be achieved, but the pay issue will have to be addressed through the benchmarking process.
Union leaders have described the proposals as "significant progress", but both the INO and the PNA have decided not to issue a recommendation to their members on how they should vote.
Ballot boxes open at lunchtime and the result should be known this evening.
