Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD89314 Case Number: LCR12431 Section / Act: S67 Parties: MID-WESTERN HEALTH BOARD - and - IRISH TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS' UNION;PSYCHIATRIC NURSES ASSOCIATION |
Integration of Nursing Staff at St. Joseph's Psychiatric Hospital, Limerick and Unit 5 B. Dooradoyle.
Recommendation:
5. Having considered the submissions made by the parties, the
Court recommends that nurses should now be obliged to undertake
integrated assignments if requested to do so, under protest if
necessary, and to process any grievance concerning such an
assignment in accordance with management's proposed disputes
procedure.
Division: Mr Fitzgerald Mr Shiel Mr O'Murchu
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD89314 RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR12431
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1976
SECTION 67
PARTIES: MID-WESTERN HEALTH BOARD
(REPRESENTED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT STAFF NEGOTIATIONS BOARD)
and
IRISH TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS' UNION
PSYCHIATRIC NURSES ASSOCIATION
SUBJECT:
1. Integration of Nursing Staff at St. Joseph's Psychiatric
Hospital, Limerick and Unit 5 B. Dooradoyle.
BACKGROUND:
2. In November, 1987 the Chief Nursing Officer at St. Joseph's
Hospital, Limerick issued instructions to two nurses to commence
duty on wards accommodating patients of the opposite sex to the
nurses concerned. The assignments were to take effect from 15th
November, 1988 but resulted instead in a strike of Psychiatric
nurses. Agreement could not be reached on the matter at local
level, and 9th November, 1988 the matter was referred to the
conciliation service of the Labour Court. A conciliation
conference took place on 15th November, 1988. Following this
conciliation conference a series of meetings took place at local
level, and subsequently an agreed set of proposals were balloted
on by the Unions' members. The proposals were rejected. A
resumed conciliation conference took place on 30th January, 1989
but agreement was not achieved. On 6th February, 1989 the matter
was referred to the Labour Court for investigation and
recommendation. A Court hearing took place in Dublin on 16th
March, 1989. Subsequent to this Court hearing the Court issued
the following recommendation (No. L.C.R. 12323).
"Having considered the submissions made by the parties, the
Court is of the opinion that further discussions should take
place between the parties with a view to reaching agreement
on draft proposals for the integration of nursing staff. In
the event of such agreement not being reached by 30th April
next the Court will be prepared to resume its hearing in the
light of the developments at these discussions."
This agreement was not forthcoming and the Mid-Western Health
Board referred the matter again to the Labour Court for
investigation and recommendation. A Court hearing took place in
Dublin on 15th May, 1989.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Court is aware from the previous hearing of the
extreme sensitivity of the issue in question (details supplied
to the Court). Members of the Unions have reservations on
legal moral and professional grounds, and it is because of
these factors that there is a reluctance on the workers' part
to proceed with the integration. In particular, Section
265(i) of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 states "it shall not
be lawful to employ a male person in the personal custody or
restraint of a female patient in a mental institution." To
date, this legislation has not been repealed.
2. Since 1982 all staff recruited to the Psychiatric service
have been assigned duties in both male and female wards/units.
The majority of such staff have been student nurses, trained
and employed specifically for such duties. There has been no
problem with the employment of those workers on integrated
duties at St. Josephs. Integrated nursing programmes
involving staff with service prior to 1982 have also been
developed in other hospitals, but the issue has been dealt
with sensitively by management. A system of coercing staff
into integrated assignments is a most unusual practice and to
say the least is unhelpful to the development of services.
3. The Unions totally reject the suggestion that there has
been no progress since the issuing of L.C.R. 12323. Unit 5.B
in the hospital is now almost entirely integrated. Management
are not giving credit for this or for the other advances
towards integration which have taken place in other areas of
the hospital.
4. The Unions feel that the greatest obstacle to a settlement
of the dispute is management's authoritarian and inflexible
attitude. This is an inappropriate approach for the delicate
and sensitive issues which must be addressed when attempting
to integrate Psychiatric services.
5. The Unions are strongly of the belief that the agreement
negotiated in December, 1988 should not be abandoned, but that
means should be sought to improve it. Management must adopt a
participative and persuasive approach, rather than the
autocratic attitude adopted up to now. Essentially no nurse
who can demonstrate a credible objection on personal or safety
grounds should be forced into an unacceptable integrated
assignment for the first time. The Unions have no objection
"in principle" to extending integrated nursing arrangements
either in St. Josephs hospital, Limerick or in any other
hospital. It must be re-iterated however, that a lack of tact
and sensitivity on the part of management has done a great
deal of damage to the prospects of progressing the issue in a
manner satisfactory to both sides.
BOARD'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. As the classification of nursing posts with reference to
sex had to be discontinued in the light of repeal of Section
17 (2) (c) and (d) of the Employment Equality Act, 1977,
nursing staff must now be deployed solely on the basis of
matching the individual skills of the nurse to the needs of
the patient. The artificial restriction in the redeployment
of nursing staff has prevented the creation of a good
therapeutic regime in the hospital.
2. Notwithstanding that over four years have now elapsed
since procedural arrangements were agreed with the unions
nationally to facilitate the implementation of integration, a
large majority of nursing staff in Limerick still claim the
right to refuse assignments which may entail them nursing
members of the opposite sex. Management submit that the Chief
Nursing Officer has an obligation to assign nursing staff in
the best interest of patient care and without reference to sex
or marital status and in a manner conducive to creating a good
therapeutic regime.
3. In the light of the Court's Recommendation No. 12323 the
parties met in Limerick on 11th April, 1989. At this meeting
Management put forward a proposal that the Chief Nursing
Officer would identify a number of posts and a corresponding
number of nurses for integrated assignments in accordance with
the needs of the service and would consult with the
individuals concerned. This proposal was accepted by the
Unions and it was also agreed that if this approach yielded no
results by the 30th April, the parties would have no option
but to return to the Court for an early resumption of its
investigation. The Chief Nursing Officer identified 6 posts
for integrated assignments in the hospital. A total of 24
nurses in turn refused to take up one of these assignments.
4. When taken in conjunction with the earlier rejection of
last December's settlement proposals, this negative response
from the nursing staff leads one to the inescapable conclusion
that Management has no alternative but to direct staff to take
up integrated assignments as and when required. Accordingly
the Court is asked to recommend that nurses are obliged to
take up integrated assignments when directed to do so by
Management, albeit under protest, and to process any
grievance(s) concerning such assignments in accordance with
Management's proposed disputes procedure (details supplied to
the Court).
RECOMMENDATION:
5. Having considered the submissions made by the parties, the
Court recommends that nurses should now be obliged to undertake
integrated assignments if requested to do so, under protest if
necessary, and to process any grievance concerning such an
assignment in accordance with management's proposed disputes
procedure.
~
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Nicholas Fitzgerald
________________________
7th June, 1989. Deputy Chairman
P.F./J.C.