Pandemic compensation claim by health staff to be heard by Workplace Relations Commission (WRC)

THE IRISH NURSES and Midwives Organisation (INMO) told the Oireachtas committee in February 2021 that front line healthcare workers should receive some compensation for their work during the pandemic .The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) will soon make a decision on the issue, which has been left unresolved by the government and the HSE. Workplace Relations Commission to hear from unions seeking ‘special recognition.

The proposed new public service pay deal sets out a 1 per cent pay rise in both 2021 and 2022, as well as the possibility of additional money from a sectoral bargaining process. There is no provision for pandemic-related compensation payments in the proposed agreement.

The INMO also lodged a claim in November 2020 for compensatory leave due to fatigue and overwork throughout 2020, which has not yet been responded to.The INMO will also told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health that decisions on worker safety have had “insufficient priority” since the start of the pandemic. The union stated that healthcare workers’ safety has been at risk as a result, while students have been left with a bad experience of the Irish health service.

The INMO submission also called for improved social distancing in hospitals, mental health supports for the frontline, childcare provision, and mandatory health and safety inspections in workplaces with clusters or outbreaks of COVID.

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