3,500 senior nurses and midwives to begin work-to-rule next week

AROUND 3,500 SENIOR NURSES and midwives are set to begin a work-to-rule next week in the latest industrial action to hit the health service.

The action will begin on Tuesday 29 September, following a long-running dispute over changes to how senior nursing and midwifery managers are paid and graded.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) and trade union Siptu say their members have waited years for a new system to be fully introduced.

Those taking part include Directors and Assistant Directors of Nursing and Midwifery, Advanced Nurse and Midwife Practitioners and tutors.

They work across hospitals, mental health and maternity services, community care, public health nursing, paediatric services and palliative care.

The dispute dates back several years, with the current system for determining the pay of senior managers based on hospital activity levels from 1999.