An employment strategy introduced by the HSE this summer is likely to be the cause of a “major industrial dispute” in the health sector this winter, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
The HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy was put in place in July, setting a new employment ceiling of 125,420 whole-time equivalent positions in the health service – the number of occupied paid posts in place at the end of December last year.
In addition, the HSE has provision for about 2,300 posts to staff new developments this year and for about 1,000 employees in hospices who are being brought into the public system.
The strategy replaced a controversial recruitment embargo from the winter before.
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Speaking to the joint Oireachtas committee on health on Wednesday morning, representatives of the union Fórsa said the strategy is negatively impacting on services and threatens public service healthcare provision.
It was likely to cause an industrial dispute later this year, they said.
[ HSE focus now on finances rather than patient safety, says nurses’ organisationOpens in new window ]
Fórsa’s members in the HSE have been balloting for industrial action since last week. The union has said current pressures on services are “set to get worse” as demand rises in the winter months.
Fórsa national secretary Linda Kelly criticised the HSE spend of €79.4 million on private consultancy firms last year for “strategic planning and business improvement”, saying it was the spending equivalent of 1,865 therapy posts, or 2,354 medical secretary posts or 1,334 psychology posts.
“Millions are being wasted on external management consultants, whose very expensive advice is to cut jobs and spending but to maintain services,” she said.
Fórsa members are taking part in a series of lunchtime demonstrations on Wednesday at acute hospitals and other HSE settings.
A protest took place from 12.30pm at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee, after similar protests in recent weeks at hospitals in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Mayo and other sites across the country.
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