Crowe meets graduate nurses to discuss cuts to pay

Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, met the Irish Nurses and Midwife Union (INMO) to discuss the Government’s plans to recruitment new graduates on a different pay scale and on a different contract to those nurses currently employed in the health service.

Speaking after the meeting the Deputy Crowe said:

“I want to thank the INMO for visiting Leinster House and briefing TDs and Senators on the plans of the Government to hire new nursing graduates on a salary which is only 80% of what nurses currently employed in the health service actually receive.

“These new graduates will be required to perform the full range of duties, responsibilities and obligations as other nurses and midwives, but will receive 20% less than their other nursing colleagues that qualified the year before. This new two tier payment scheme comes on the back of a 24% pay cut placed on nursing graduates since 2009.

“The Government is insisting that the 1,000 contracts it will give to nurses on reduced pay are new, additional, or extra posts. That is not correct. In fact the initiative simply involves the displacement of 1,000 agency or temporary staff, on the agreed pay scale, with the replacement into their posts, of new graduates on 20% less pay.

“The INMO have pointed out that if there was a direct conversion of currently employed agency staff into direct employment, it would potentially save the HSE up to €23 million.

“Our nursing graduates are some of the best trained and hardest working nurses in the world and they deserve a fair and equal rate of pay. This illogical and cruel cut on nurses pay, and the attempts of the Government to coerce graduates to sign up to this unfair scheme, is an insult to the nursing profession.

“If the Government continues with these ill thought out plans it will see swathes of our highly trained and motivated nurses being forced to emigrate to other countries where their skills are respected and rewarded.

“In interest of fairness and equality the Government needs to revise its plans and hire new graduates on a pay scale and terms of employment that all nurses receive.”