The SIPTU general union has prevented the outsourcing of cleaning at two hospitals following the threat of industrial action. The union had challenged the plans of the Health Service (HSE) management to privatise the cleaning without consultation. The Croke Park national agreement on public sector pay and restructuring requires consultation with trade unions over any planned outsourcing. The unions have proposed an alternative that involves extra hours of work for home helps. SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Paul Bell, said: “This is a very important agreement for health service staff and ends an attempt by HSE management to breech the terms of the Croke Park Agreement.”
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/456 ;
http://www.siptu.ie/media/pressreleases2012/othernews/fullstory,15397,en.html
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl or the communications officer of the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2012.