Nurse talks continue

Talks between the unions and the Health Service Executive are continuing today.

They are being supervised by the National Implementation Body (NIB).

General secretary of the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO), Liam Doran, said yesterday that proposed nurse stopworks will be reviewed every day, depending on the progress of the talks.

The NIB, which oversees the social partnership between workers and employers, stepped in to call the warring sides back to negotiations.

A series of one-hour stopworks had already taken place across the country, in support of 40,000 nurses' pay and conditions claims.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) is also involved in the talks, and the national work-to-rule which is stopping nurses from using computers or answering phones.

The nurses want a 10.6% pay increase and a working week shortened by four hours.

It is understood that the HSE has proposed an initial reduction of one hour a week, with certain conditions.