BREAKING NEWS: Nursing union suspends strike action following Labour Court recommendation

The INMO’s elected Executive Council has suspended the upcoming strike scheduled for this week, following a recommendation from the Labour Court.

The INMO says that the Labour Court recommendation makes progress across all areas of concern to the union, including the key areas of safe staffing and addressing recruitment and retention problems.

According to the INMO, among other proposals, it includes:

* guaranteed multi-annual funding to maintain safe staffing levels;
* significant changes to salary scale and allowances;
* increased education and training opportunities;
* separately, an expert group to examine, in a short period of time, remaining pay and reform issues including those affecting senior management grades.

Details of the recommendation will be presented to INMO members soon and will be subject to a ballot.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: "after over thirty hours of negotiations at the Labour Court, the Executive Council have agreed that sufficient progress has been made to suspend strikes and consider the Labour Court’s recommendations.

“There is still more negotiation to be done, but we are at a point where we believe strikes can be suspended. Members will be kept fully informed and will have the final say in a ballot. Safe staffing along with recruitment and retention were key concerns for us, and we have made progress on both.We are immensely grateful for our determined nurse and midwife members, who are standing up for our patients and our professions. They have at all times worked to ensure patient safety during this dispute.”