Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The members of the MLSA in the Gallery are very welcome. They have come from the picket line to the Dáil. That is how democracy should be. We are delighted to have their issues aired here. I hope the debates will help MLSA members understand how the system works and better equip them to be able to argue against what they are hearing.

There is an idea in ecology of a keystone species, that is, a species that occupies a niche in the whole ecological system and when that species is damaged or removed it has profound effects on the entire environment and ecology. Members of the keystone species of the health service are in the Chamber watching this debate. If we fail to treat the scientific laboratory workers properly by failing to give them justice, fair play and equality, our health system will start to implode from the centre. Removing any group of workers or impeding them from operating in the system has a profound effect on all of us, right across the board. It is similar to the way the failure to retain psychiatric nurses in the Linn Dara CAMHS unit is having a profound effect on the most vulnerable in our society. Behind the scenes these unsung heroes, whom we have all acknowledged, are absolutely essential.

I first became aware of the MLSA and the work it does several years ago during the CervicalCheck scandal. I was hugely impressed by the evidence its members gave before the committee hearings into what happened in that crisis. It is worth remembering, because it tells us a great deal about the role of such workers, how political decisions based on ideology have a profound and negative effect on people's lives. In 2008, the MLSA and its members warned the State of the dangers of outsourcing the CervicalCheck programme on the basis of competitive lower costs. The heartbreaking result of that political decision, which is obvious to all of us, affected many women. What is less clear is that the result of that decision to contract out the testing capacity to the US also meant we lost university courses, qualified graduates and hundreds of skilled staff who had intended and hoped to work in our public health service.

The warnings of the MLSA and other workers on the front line of laboratory testing were ignored because of a political decision and philosophy. In many ways this dispute for the past 21 years is similar in that we are ignoring warnings from front-line workers about what is happening at the heart of our health service. We hear of great investments in the children's hospital, the national maternity hospital and the new testing facility at the Coombe. The figures are in the billions of euro and are mentioned as proof of the seriousness with which the Minister and the State take the provision of services. Who will work in these buildings? Who will ensure these shiny new buildings operate and people get the services they need? It will be workers, nurses and laboratory staff such as members of the MLSA. Without them we would have only very expensive shells. If we cannot retain and recruit workers and keep them in a public system, the chief goal of which is not profit but public service, it will not matter that we spend billions on buildings because we will not have workers to do the job.

The usual suspects tell us we cannot treat one group of workers differently from others in the health service. No doubt we will hear commentators warn about the need to be prudent with State money. I heard the same about nurses during their dispute some years ago. We need to remember when one group of workers, such as nurses or MLSA staff, is disrespected and treated badly it is not a victory for prudent management of the State coffers. It is not a win by saving the State purse a few shillings. It is a defeat for all of us who rely on and need public services and a defeat for workers everywhere.

It is deeply ironic that this week we have heard so much talk about whether it is time to remove the cap of €500,000 per year on top bankers' pay because it is restrictive. The poor créatúrs must live on that much, yet we are being urged to be realistic when it comes to how we treat our public sector workers. We need to retain the best banking talent, we are told. I say we need to retain the best scientific talent. I have read the Minister's remarks carefully and it is interesting that he mentioned the Building Momentum deal eight times. However, he goes on to explain that within a particular section of that agreement, there is a mechanism for increasing pay by only 1%. He also alluded to the fact the MLSA rejected that deal. I am not surprised. If it has had a claim of 8% for the past 20 years to bring its members' pay to parity and Building Momentum has a mechanism for only a 1% increase in pay, it is no surprise the MLSA rejected the deal. The Minister cannot keep referring to the deal over and over again without recognising it will not go anywhere in settling this dispute. That 98% of workers voted to take strike action is startling. They did not do that lightly. As the Minister of State outlined, they have called off their action again and again in order to facilitate talks. This issue is going nowhere unless the Minister and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform sit at the table and try to find a solution. The Minister said the money is in the coffers but he is restricted by Building Momentum. In that case, he must find a way around those restrictions.

I will say a few words about the hopeful message in the Minister's remarks and his amendment regarding what will happen with the new testing centre at the Coombe and how it will provide a plan to address workforce resilience, development, training and all the rest of it. I received a reply from the HSE to a parliamentary question yesterday which indicates that when this new building opens we will continue to rely on a back-up from a second provider for several years. How many years that will be is not spelt out. It does not say two years or ten. We are still going to outsourcing CervicalCheck until we bring the service up to standard. The Minister should not give false hope that the situation MLSA members are in will change because a new facility is to open in the Coombe. That is not the case.

The Minister also mentioned the conflict in Ukraine twice. When the scientists first faced this lack of parity 20 years ago there was a worse conflict taking place in Iraq. What does that have to do with the price of beans? I do not see why the Minister mentioned Ukraine.

The amendment also calls on the MLSA to call off its strike. That is disgraceful. Every Deputy with any self-respect and respect for these workers should vote against the Minister's amendment should it go to a vote tonight. It is outrageous.

Victory for these workers will be a victory for all workers because it will mean we can build a decent health service in the future by correcting the historical wrongs done to workers which are having profound and negative impacts on all the key services on which we all rely.

See this speech in context