Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No.1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes:

— the dedication, professionalism and commitment of all medical scientists throughout the country, and that they have performed a crucial role in the Covid-19 pandemic response;

— that medical scientists are the hidden heroes of the health service, as they are the people who process test samples for Covid-19, who do blood tests, who test urine and stool samples, and they have been under intense pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic;

recognises that:

— the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA) have a long-standing concern in relation to the pay and career structure of the medical scientist grade, and they want pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists, as parity of pay with clinical biochemists was given to medical scientists via the Report of the Expert Group on Medical Laboratory Technician/Technologist Grades in 2001, however, the 2002 benchmarking process broke the link between the two grades and, consequently, eliminated the parity;

— medical scientists are an integral part of the provision of laboratory services across many disciplines, and the current medical scientist workforce stands at 2,135 Whole-time Equivalents;

— the Chief Clinical Officer in the Health Service Executive (HSE) has commissioned a review of the strategic direction of laboratory services;

— the HSE plans to undertake a national recruitment campaign for medical scientists, both nationally and internationally, and investment in development posts has been confirmed via the National Service Plan 2022 with circa 160 development posts being recruited in addition to replacement posts;

— there is a clearly defined grade structure with promotional opportunities for medical scientists within the HSE, and since 2019 there has been a six per cent growth in the number of medical scientists, while the number of basic grade medical scientists has reduced since 2019, the number of senior and specialist grade medical scientists has increased;

— the HSE is leading a project to progress advanced practice in the National Health and Social Care Professions, which encompasses developing an overarching framework incorporating all the key factors, including an agreed definition and approach across the professions, core competencies, a planned approach to meeting educational requirements, governance and regulatory considerations which can inform policy development in this area;

— a strategic decision was made, arising from recommendations of the Report by Dr Gabriel Scally in 2018 entitled 'Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme', to develop a National Cervical Screening Laboratory (NCSL), which is due to open in the coming weeks, building capacity and resilience into the public element of the laboratory services required for the National Cervical Screening Programme in Ireland, and will enable the National Screening Service (NSS) to reduce its dependency on third party providers to meet the needs of the CervicalCheck programme;

— the new NCSL is designed to become the principal provider of cervical screening laboratory services for the NSS over time, and it will also serve as a national base for training, education and research purposes, with €20 million having been committed for construction, fitout and staffing of the NCSL, and a workforce plan is currently being developed to address the workforce resilience;

— the current public service pay agreement, Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement 2021-2022, includes the process of sectoral bargaining to deal with all outstanding claims across the public sector, and the bargaining fund equates to one per cent of basic pensionable pay;

— there was extensive engagement between health management and the MLSA on the use of the sectoral bargaining fund in the last number of months, however, there are insufficient funds to fully or partially resolve this matter to the satisfaction of the MLSA; and

— as this matter could not be resolved, it was referred to the Public Sector Agreement Group (PSAG), the dispute resolution mechanism set up under Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement 2021-2022, twice since January 2022, and at the latest meeting of this group on the 11th May, PSAG recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and that industrial peace be maintained in the meantime, however, while the MLSA agreed to reconvene at the WRC, they were not willing to lift their strike action; and

calls on all sides to use the established dispute resolution mechanisms of the State, including the WRC and the Labour Court, and to suspend industrial action while this process is ongoing."

First, I join colleagues in acknowledging and paying tribute to the dedication, professionalism and commitment of all medical scientists around the country. Medical scientists perform a valued and vital role in our health service. Their testing of samples during the Covid-19 pandemic was, and still is, a critical and essential part of our response to the pandemic. Their professionalism and dedication must be acknowledged. The daily testing of samples is crucial to the running of our hospitals, community healthcare organisations, CHOs, and general practitioner, GP, services in every part of the country. This was very evident on 18 May when medical scientists engaged in a day of industrial action and their presence in clinical settings across the country was suspended. While derogations were granted to allow for the continuation of dialysis and some cancer services, thousands of other inpatient and day-case elective procedures and hospital outpatient appointments were cancelled with a direct impact on patients around the country.

I thank the Deputies for tabling this motion and raising this matter in the House but I urge the House to support the Government's amendment. I am very aware of the ongoing and long-standing claim for pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. On that basis, health management, in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, has been engaging with the MLSA at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, under the terms of the current public service agreement, Building Momentum. The MLSA has been clear that medical scientists and clinical biochemists should have pay parity due to the fact that they both carry out similar work, roles and functions.

Parity of pay with clinical biochemists was given to medical scientists via the expert group report in respect of medical scientists in 2000. However, the first benchmarking process in 2002 broke the link between the two grades and, consequently, eliminated that parity. As this is a long-standing claim, it is understandable that the MLSA seeks to raise it as an issue to be addressed under Building Momentum. As colleagues will be aware, Building Momentum includes the process of sectoral bargaining to deal with all outstanding commitments, recommendations, awards and claims across the public sector. It must be acknowledged that the MLSA voted against Building Momentum but as a member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, it is bound by the terms of this agreement for the remainder of its lifetime. As set out under section 2.1.2 of Building Momentum, the sectoral bargaining fund equates to 1% of basic pay for each bargaining unit set up under the agreement. Therefore, under Building Momentum, sectoral bargaining is the mechanism through which the MLSA can advance its claim for pay parity. The MLSA requested, and was facilitated with, its own bargaining unit in the sectoral bargaining process to progress this claim.

On the not unreasonable interpretation Deputy Boyd Barrett has taken of "insufficient funds", I must be clear that the Government's amendment does not suggest that within the Exchequer there are insufficient funds. Obviously, that would not be true. The point the Government is making is that within the parameters of Building Momentum there is not the level of flexibility that would be required to fully address pay parity. That is why these talks are needed and why they have been complex. It is important to provide clarity to the House and, more important, to the people affected, the workers themselves. The point we are making is that within Building Momentum, the 1% increase is insufficient. That agreement does not carry sufficient flexibility for full pay parity of 8% and hence, we need these talks.

As previously mentioned, the MLSA and health management have been engaged in talks over the last number of months with the aim of finding a way to advance the claim through the sectoral bargaining process. The HSE has provided the MLSA with the cost of its outstanding claim for pay parity with clinical biochemists and it is substantially more than the bargaining fund available, which is the point made in our amendment. Several options for moving medical scientists to the biochemist scale were explored during these talks, including some that would partially resolve the claim within the agreement. To date, no proposal has been identified which satisfactorily resolves the claim within the terms set out under Building Momentum. Any options that were put on the table have been taken seriously and respectfully by both sides and were discussed, costed and verified in good faith by the HSE and the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform.

Section 5 of Building Momentum sets out the principles regarding resolution of disputes and ensuring industrial peace is maintained within the lifetime of the agreement. Should an issue remain unresolved following discussions at local level, it can be referred to the public service agreement group. This group is the oversight body for Building Momentum and is comprised of trade union and Civil Service representatives with an independent chair. The group recommended that the matter we are discussing today be immediately referred to the WRC and that industrial peace be maintained in the meantime. Following this recommendation, health management met the MLSA under the auspices of the WRC on 17 May, but, unfortunately, no resolution was reached. While the MLSA agreed to engage at the WRC, it did not lift its industrial action. We all recognise the significant disruption caused by these strike days and the impact they have had on patients. I recognise unconditionally that not one medical scientist who has stood on a picket line wants to be there and there is not one medical scientist who does not understand the implications of being there. I fully appreciate and acknowledge that medical scientists are doing this as a last resort. They have been engaging for two decades now on this issue.

The Government also acknowledges that current price pressures are a source of concern for public service workers, including medical scientists, and right across the board. Nevertheless, Government must manage the public finances in a way that addresses the multiple challenges facing the economy and the Exchequer, including the impact of rising inflation and the conflict in Ukraine. Since December 2021, almost €560 million worth of additional expenditure measures have been introduced to support citizens and businesses with increased costs, including an energy credit payment, an increase in the fuel allowance, a reduction in the threshold for the drugs payment scheme and a temporary 20% reduction in public service transport fares.

On 14 March, ICTU advised the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform of its intention to seek a review of Building Momentum. The Minister has directed his officials to arrange entering into exploratory discussions with public service unions and representative staff associations on an agreed way forward on public service pay issues. These will be complex discussions against a difficult backdrop of the hangover effects of Covid, the disruptions, the increase in demand and its impact on consumer price inflation, the war in Ukraine and many other international issues that have been driving up prices. Discussions must be cognisant of the multiple challenges Ireland is currently facing, including increases in prices right across the board.

As set out in the Government amendment to this motion, the Department of Health must operate within the public service agreement, and all of the State's industrial relations institutions must be used to prevent further disruption to patients and to find an acceptable solution to this matter for all sides. I was pleased to hear the parties have accepted an invitation from the Labour Court for exploratory engagement. I believe parties will be engaging in the coming hours. It is for the court to establish whether and how it might assist the parties in finding a resolution to the matters in dispute. I very much welcome the decision by the MLSA to lift its strike action and to attend this Labour Court engagement.

Health management, in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is committed to continuing to engage with the MLSA while acknowledging that all parties must continue to adhere to the provisions of the public service agreements. We will continue to make every effort to find a resolution to this issue.

I thank the Deputies again for tabling the motion. It is an important topic and it has been going on for too long. We can all accept that. We all understand the source of the claim for pay parity with the biochemists. A process is now under way. I hope we all agree that the best way for this to be resolved is through the established dispute resolution mechanisms. I very much welcome all sides going to the Labour Court today. It is my sincere hope an agreement can be found through the mechanisms of the Labour Court, the Workplace Relations Commission, if necessary, and through formal and informal talks. I hope an outcome that is satisfactory to all sides can be found. We all know strike action has a significant impact on patients. I reiterate that the work of the medical scientists is highly valued and acknowledged, and we want to find a settlement that works for all sides.

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