SIPTU will be a key participant in this year’s Pay and Number Strategy talks with the HSE after claims that it was in breach of a staffing agreement across grades.
This comes after the HSE was taken to the Labour Court for failing to engage and consult on a workforce plan with the unions representing the workforce.
SIPTU, along with other unions, argued that the HSE was in breach of the staffing agreement with an estimated 7,000 vacant posts across the health service. If left unfilled, these vacancies could affect the quality of care that patients receive.
In 2023, the HSE implemented a recruitment embargo, leaving thousands of previously approved positions unfilled across the public health service.
In the following year, the HSE announced the lifting of the recruitment embargo, coinciding with the long-awaited release of its pay and numbers strategy. As a result, thousands of healthcare jobs were lost due to the HSE redefining the ceiling for recruitment within the health service.
SIPTU, alongside the other ICTU health unions, filed a complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission last year against the HSE for failing to consult on the workforce plan.
The dispute was referred to the Labour Court, which recommended establishing a national subgroup to address this issue, which will examine workforce planning, the replacement of maternity leave, the use of agency staff, and other staff-related issues.
The subgroup, chaired by the Workplace Relations Commission, met for the first time on the 25th February to discuss the development of a workforce plan for the 2027 estimates process.
A plan for 2027 is expected to be developed and submitted to the Department of Health by the end of April.
SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “Direct engagement is needed to identify vacant positions and ensure safe staffing levels across grades. Our members can no longer work with unsafe staffing levels or the threat of outsourcing always hanging over them. Services need to be properly resourced to ensure healthcare workers can cater to the needs of patients and service users.”