CAREDOC STAFF ARE to vote on a proposal finalised between health unions and the employer, following recent strike action by members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Siptu.

In a statement released today, the unions said that strikes planned for the 23, 27 and 29 of December have been suspended.

Staff at the out-of-hours GP service held a 24-hour strike in the south-east last Thursday, 18 December, amid a row over funding.

INMO and Siptu claimed that Caredoc has failed to pass on an 8% pay increase to staff despite receiving funding from the HSE for this purpose earlier this year following talks.

INMO Industrial Relations Officer Grainne Walsh said: “Our members had no desire to withdraw their labour, particularly at such a busy time of year for the health service, and the employer should not have forced them into this situation before doing the right thing. Having to go on strike was truly a last resort.”

“Comparable pay across the health service is vital to retaining staff across all critical services. The out-of-hours and triage services provided by our members in Caredoc represent a crucial resource and one that is heavily relied on by patients and doctors across the country. 

“We now have a proposal that we can present to members for ballot, and we hope that this matter can finally be resolved in the coming weeks.”

Siptu Health Division Industrial Organiser, Ger McNally, said union members showed “great determination and strength” in engaging in strike action last week.

“It was most unfortunate that the HSE and Caredoc management did not intervene sooner to resolve this pay dispute which could have averted strike action.

The pay increase was part of the 2023 WRC pay agreement for Section 39 organisations.

The Unions today said that following last week’s strike, Caredoc made improved proposals to unions to resolve the issue and bring the dispute to a close.

In a statement last week, Caredoc put blame on the HSE, accusing the Executive of leaving a “€3.2 million gap in funding required” for the service.

It called the HSE’s allocation of €647,000 earlier this year a “derisory” offer.

However, the HSE said it had “fully honoured” their commitments by allocating €647,000 to Caredoc South‑East and added that the industrial action was “unnecessary and premature given that the HSE is actively working to resolve the matter”.

In a statement last Friday, Carroll MacNeill said she had been advised by HSE CEO Bernard Gloster that the dispute between Caredoc and the HSE had been resolved by agreement.