The Labour Court recommended that HSE West and the Irish Nurses Organisation implement their 2004 agreement on staffing at the Plunkett Home Community Nursing Unit in Boyle, including equal access to premium-time work. The recommendation was signed on 31 July 2007.
The Irish Nurses Organisation said staff nurses were denied equal access to night-duty premium hours while agency nurses worked nights. It sought equal access, premium payments and €5,000 compensation. HSE West said agency nurses would not accept day shifts, there were no sanctioned additional posts, and the union’s proposed staffing solution was impractical.
The Court said temporary staffing arrangements were not intended to continue for as long as five years. It recommended implementing the agreed staffing levels without agency workers, opening the palliative care service and providing all nursing staff equal access to premium-time work.