Labour Court Database __________________________________________________________________________________ File Number: CD91203 Case Number: LCR13358 Section / Act: S67 Parties: WESTERN HEALTH BOARD - and - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION;NATIONAL NURSING COUNCIL;THE PSYCHIATRIC NURSES ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND |
Reorganisation of psychiatric services in County Roscommon.
Recommendation:
8. The Court has considered very carefully the submissions made
by the parties in respect of the issues before it:
Travel
Having regard to the increased travel involved for staff
arising out of the transfer of the work location from
Castlerea to Roscommon the Court recommends that travel
expenses to the amount of #5.50 per day be paid to staff
inovlved for a period of 2 years.
Loss of Earnings
The Court recommends that the employers offer of compensation
be increased to provide for a once off lump sum payment
equivalent to two years loss.
Start Up Allowance
The Court does not consider any concession beyond the Boards
offer of "once off" additional days leave is warranted.
Rosters
To the extent that changes in traditional rosters are found to
be necessary to improve patient care it is the view of the
Court that the Boards proposals to phase in new rosters are
reasonable and should be accepted by the Unions concerned.
Community Nursing Allowances
It is clear that far reaching changes are involved in the
proposed system of community nursing and that these changes
will have implications for the profession generally and not
simply for the group before the Court.
In the circumstances it would seem to the Court that inorder
to establish the extent to which the changes warrant
additional allowances - as opposed simply to replacing current
levels of earnings and some attempt should be made to assess
the nature of extent of the changes in duties and
responsibilities involved, and so provide some objective basis
for such an allowance.
As mentioned at the hering a wide ranging review of nursing
practice. is about to commence and it would seem the ideal
opportunity to carry out such an exercise.
In these circumstances the Court recommends that the Unions accept
the Boards proposed allowance of #653 pending the outcome of such
a review.
The court does not consider that any extension of the other
allowances mentioned is warranted and does not recommend that they
be conceded by the Board.
Division: Mr O'Connell Mr Keogh Mr Rorke
Text of Document__________________________________________________________________
CD91203 RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR13358
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990
SECTION 67, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1946
PARTIES: WESTERN HEALTH BOARD
(REPRESENTED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT STAFF NEGOTIATIONS BOARD)
and
SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION
(NATIONAL NURSING COUNCIL)
THE PSYCHIATRIC NURSES ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
SUBJECT:
1. Reorganisation of psychiatric services in County Roscommon.
BACKGROUND:
2. In 1985 a report entitled "Planning for the Future" was
published which outlined proposals on the future development of
the psychiatric service and advocated a community based rather
than hospital based service as currently then provided. In line
with this policy document the Western Health Board decided that
services and staff should be transferred from St. Patrick's
Psychiatric Hospital, Castlerea to a number of alternative new
facilities in the town and in other parts of County Roscommon.
This new service would consist of a community based service and an
acute unit in the General Hospital in Roscommon as follows:
1. Acute Admissions Unit - County Hospital, Roscommon Town.
2. High Support Hostel - Grounds of St. Patrick's,
Castlerea.
3. Psychogeriatric Unit - Castlerea.
4. Community based
facilities (day
centres workshops,
day hospitals, etc) - Throughout County Roscommon.
The community based facilities will in general operate on a Monday
to Friday 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. basis, and the other services
will be provided on a 24 hour 7 day week basis.
3. A number of local level meetings took place on issues arising
out of these changes and on 12th October, 1990 the matter was
referred to the conciliation service of the Labour Court.
Conciliation conferences were held on 18th October, 1990 and 6th
February, 1991. The Unions on behalf of the nurses involved have
made the following claims:
1. Travel - public service payments system for use of
personal transport in travelling to Roscommon.
S.I.P.T.U. is claiming pro-rata compensation for the
additional travelling time in the form of accumulated
time off. The P.N.A. is claiming compensation for the
additional travelling time in the form of overtime
payment at the appropriate rate.
2. "Start-up" compensation - 10 days annual leave.
3. Rosters - no change in the existing rosters other than by
local agreement and staff to be assigned to the new acute
unit on the basis of their existing rosters.
4. Loss of premium earnings - S.I.P.T.U. is claiming that
where this occurs compensation equivalent to five times
the annual loss should be paid. The P.N.A. is claiming
that any losses should be compensated in full.
5. Operation of Day Facilities - nurses working in day
facilities should receive:
(a) reimbursement of the full cost of all requisite
training courses and paid leave where
necessary,
(b) a Community Allowance - S.I.P.T.U. is claiming
an allowance of #1,650 per annum. The P.N.A.
is claiming an allowance of #3,000 per annum.
(c) compensation for loss of premium earnings
(any community allowance paid to be taken into
account).
4. Management made the following offers in relation to these
claims and other issues.
1. Travel - a daily payment of #3.25 in respect of nurses
travelling to a new work location in County Roscommon
which is a minimum of 15 miles from the old work location
in Castlerea. This payment to apply for a transitional
period of one year.
2. Income Loss (7 day settings) - a 'once off' lump sum
payment of 1 year's loss in respect of premia payments
calculated on an actuarial basis.
3. Allowance (5 day community based setting) - an annual
allowance of #653 to compensate for contingencies arising
from the nature of the service provided.
4. Rosters - replacement of the 'day on, day off' roster in
the Acute Admissions Unit by a 5 day working week spread
over 7 days.
5. Once-off Annual Leave - 4 days 'once off' extra annual
leave subject to a nurse moving to a new work location
and working a new roster.
6. Removal Expenses - the terms of the removal expenses
scheme to be made available to any member of the nursing
staff who sells their place of residence in Castlerea and
purchases an alternative residence at the new work
location in Roscommon.
7. Method of Assignment - the Health Board in making initial
assignments to new work locations would take into account
staff preferences and nurses' length of experience.
5. Agreement could not be reached at conciliation and on 15th
April, 1991 the matter was referred to the Labour Court for
investigation and recommendation. All parties recognise that the
settlement reached in Castlerea will provide a basis for
settlements in other areas. The Court investigated the dispute on
24th April, 1991.
UNIONS' ARGUMENTS:
6. 1. The distance from St. Patrick's Hospital, Castlerea to the
General Hospital in Roscommon town is 21 miles, the travelling
time is about 30 - 40 minutes. There is no possibility of any
move on the basis of the employer's offer of #3.25 per day for
a 12 month period. Within the public service there is an
agreed payment system for use of personal transport, this
system should be applied to these workers in the present
circumstances. The public service mileage rates have
traditionally applied to health service staff who have to move
from their base during the course of their employment. There
should be pro-rata compensation for the additional travelling
time in the form of accumulated time off/overtime payment.
The question of relocating from Castlerea to Roscommon is not
an option in the context of the existing public service
relocation scheme. There is a big difference in property
values between the two locations and it would be difficult to
sell a house at all in Castlerea. In any event there is no
guarantee that staff initially assigned to the acute unit at
Roscommon will continue to be located there forever. A
compensation package which enables nurses to continue working
without incurring substantial cost and inconvenience to
themselves is justified.
2. There are particular difficulties associated with the
run-down and transfer of hospital facilities, especially where
a new type of service is being established. A system for
recognising this in non-monetary terms has been well
established. The nurses should receive start-up compensation
of 10 days annual leave. There should be no change in the
existing rosters other than by local agreement and staff
should be assigned to the new acute unit on the basis of their
existing roster. A fixed and predictable level of premium
earnings is an expectation of all psychiatric nurses and was a
factor when the Court last fixed the basic pay levels in 1980.
There is a straightforward case for compensation for lost
earnings which is obvious. Quite clearly management has an
interest in ensuring that staff will not be deterred from
seeking to work in new settings by financial considerations.
3. The work done by psychiatric nurses in the new settings is
different in many respects to that done in the psychiatric
hospital. The emphasis and style of the new facilities are
significantly different, as a result the role and function of
the psychiatric nurse is also different. An Bord Altranais
identified the training needs for nurses implementing the new
services. However, in practice the official provision has
been patchy and inadequate and some nurses have had to
undertake essential training at their own expense. In
addition, in practically all cases of nurses working in day
facilities, they have lost the opportunity for week-end and
night duty premia. For all of the skills which are required
from the nurses, for the loss of premia which is in excess of
#2,500 p.a., for co-operating in setting up this radical new
service, management has offered only #653 p.a. Staff working
in these settings on a five day week basis should receive:
reimbursement of the full cost of all necessary courses and
paid leave where necessary; an allowance in recognition of
their increased skills and responsibility and their continuing
contribution to the new service; and, compensation for loss of
premium earnings.
4. This is the fist time that the Court has been asked to
speak on issues arising from the "Planning for the Future"
process. Therefore, the Court is asked to recommend on the
general question of how service developments should proceed.
There have been and will be other developments similar to
Castlerea. The L.G.S.N.B. has given a commitment that the
settlement reached in the Castlerea negotiations will be
applied elsewhere. While the Unions welcome this there is a
worry that Castlerea will be distinquished from other
situations in such a way as to deny the benefits of this
agreement to others. In general, the essential principle in
the Castlerea formula is the movement of facilities off the
site in the case of travel expenses and the change in the
nature of the facility in the case of day facilities, even
where these remain on the hospital compus. The Unions'
position as outlined should be endorsed.
BOARD'S ARGUMENTS:
7. 1. There is no precedent for paying staff mileage rates any
where in the public service for going to and coming from work.
Disturbance payments were outlawed in the public service in
1983 by the then Minister for the Public Service. There have
been many instances of enforced movements of staff within both
the health and wider public service since then, but none of
those involved have benefited from any form of disturbance
payment. With the exception of those nurses going to work in
5 day community based settings all others will continue to
enjoy a significant level of premia income in their new work
locations and a minority of nurses will actually gain due to
greater access to premia earnings. Management's offer of a
'once off' lump sum payment of one years loss is in line with
any compensation awards made in recent years.
2. The community allowance claimed by the Unions approximates
to a combination of 3 existing allowances payable in the
psychiatric service, as follows:-
(a) Social Inconvenience Allowance of #653 p.a. which is
paid in order to compensate for contingencies
arising and which may involve some social
inconvenience due to demands made outside of the
normal working week.
(b) Occupational Therapy Allowance of #653 p.a., which
is paid to nurses engaged wholetime in occupational
therapy.
(c) Responsibility Allowance of #369 p.a. which is paid
for the transportation of psychiatric patients in
nurses private cars.
While management has offered to pay the Social Inconvenience
Allowance in line with the criteria above, a case cannot be
sustained for the payment of either of or any combination of
the other allowances. The Union's claim is an attempt to
restore a large measure of premia income under the guise of an
allowance for nurses who will now be able to enjoy the
advantages of regular Monday to Friday working.
3. Management sought a change from the 'day on day off'
roster to a 5 day working week spread over 7 days in the new
Acute Admissions Unit in Roscommon town. These changes are
being sought in the interest of continuity of patient care.
The 'day on, day off' system means that nurses attend work
only every other day. This is not suited to the needs of an
acute admissions unit of the type that is about to open in
Roscommon. In an attempt to reach a compromise management
made the following proposals:
- staff to agree to some relaxation in the 'day on,
day off' roster to facilitate some consecutive days
of attendance
- new recruits to work 5 days over 7
- individual members of staff to be asked whether on a
voluntary basis they would be prepared to work 5
days over 7
- nursing officers to agree to 5/7 working.
Under the proposal for consecutive days of attendance nurses
would still only attend work on 7 days per fortnight and the
duration of the working day would remain the same. Management
is committed to the attainment of a 5 day working week over a
7 day spread.
4. The Health vote for 1991 was increased by 3% over the
outturn for 1990. However, this increase is largely accounted
for by the additional cost of Clause 3.3 of special increases
and a provision of about #13m in respect of Clause 3.4 claims.
The vote was settled on the basis that it would fund service
levels which were obtained towards the latter half of 1989.
As there has been growth in activity in 1990 and extreme
pressure on statutory demand led schemes health agencies will
face a difficult task in observing budgetary limits. In
addition, the Health Vote for 1991 does not take into account
the cost of the first phase of the general increase in pay
under P.E.S.P. Concession of the Unions' claims will
inevitably give rise to repercussions throughout the
psychiatric service and possibly throughout the wider health
service. It is estimated that the cost of applying the
Unions' claim throughout the psychiatric service would be in
the region of #3 to #4 million. In relation to this it is
accepted by management and understood by the Unions that the
offer of compensation for loss of earnings and out of pocket
travel expenses (in so far as it has wider application in the
psychiatric service), is limited to those nurses who actually
experience a loss of premia income or incur extra travel costs
when moving to a new work location.
RECOMMENDATION:
8. The Court has considered very carefully the submissions made
by the parties in respect of the issues before it:
Travel
Having regard to the increased travel involved for staff
arising out of the transfer of the work location from
Castlerea to Roscommon the Court recommends that travel
expenses to the amount of #5.50 per day be paid to staff
inovlved for a period of 2 years.
Loss of Earnings
The Court recommends that the employers offer of compensation
be increased to provide for a once off lump sum payment
equivalent to two years loss.
Start Up Allowance
The Court does not consider any concession beyond the Boards
offer of "once off" additional days leave is warranted.
Rosters
To the extent that changes in traditional rosters are found to
be necessary to improve patient care it is the view of the
Court that the Boards proposals to phase in new rosters are
reasonable and should be accepted by the Unions concerned.
Community Nursing Allowances
It is clear that far reaching changes are involved in the
proposed system of community nursing and that these changes
will have implications for the profession generally and not
simply for the group before the Court.
In the circumstances it would seem to the Court that inorder
to establish the extent to which the changes warrant
additional allowances - as opposed simply to replacing current
levels of earnings and some attempt should be made to assess
the nature of extent of the changes in duties and
responsibilities involved, and so provide some objective basis
for such an allowance.
As mentioned at the hering a wide ranging review of nursing
practice? is about to commence and it would seem the ideal
opportunity to carry out such an exercise.
In these circumstances the Court recommends that the Unions accept
the Boards proposed allowance of #653 pending the outcome of such
a review.
The court does not consider that any extension of the other
allowances mentioned is warranted and does not recommend that they
be conceded by the Board.
~
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
John O'Connell
________________________
19th July, 1991. Deputy Chairman.
U.M./J.C.