Taoiseach rules out 10% pay rise for nurses
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern this afternoon appeared to rule out pay rises for the country's 40,000 nurses.
Nursing unions launched a work-to-rule action at hospitals this morning following a dispute regarding pay and conditions.
Mr Ahern said he regretted the fact that three weeks of talks with the National Implementation Body had failed to bring about a resolution.
Mr Ahern said agreement may be found on the issue of hours worked per week, but indicated that pay rises of 10% are not going to happen:
“The third demand is where the nurses are looking for effectively a 10% increase for 40,000 nurses, and we're in a national agreement with everybody and just can't give it,” the Taoiseach said.
