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Rónán Duffy/The Journal

Medical scientists to suspend strike action tomorrow and enter talks in Labour Court

The MLSA, Department of Health and HSE are all set to engage in talks in the Labour Court tomorrow.

LAST UPDATE | 24 May 2022

MEDICAL SCIENTISTS WILL suspend their strike action tomorrow, with the union set to enter exploratory talks in the Labour Court alongside the Department of Health and HSE.

The Labour Court has intervened in the ongoing dispute, with the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA) and the HSE/Department of Health accepting the invitation to engage in talks.

Following the announcement, the MLSA has issued a notice to its 2,100 members to suspend the strike action planned for tomorrow and to return to work as normal in all hospital laboratories. 

In a statement, MLAS General Secretary Terry Casey said that the union will enter the talks in good faith and with commitments to resolve the recruitment and retention issues within the sector.

“The MLSA’s Executive Committee met this afternoon and has agreed to accept the Labour Court’s invitation. We will remain focused on what is required to achieve a sustainable work structure for Medical Scientists, patients and the Irish health service,” said Casey.

The HSE has said that hospitals will work to resume appointments and medical procedures tomorrow but that there will be some cancellations of inpatient, day surgery and outpatient appointments.

A spokesperson for the HSE added that routine GP testing and other testing services for patients that are already in hospital will resume tomorrow.

“The HSE would like to acknowledge the ongoing cooperation of our staff and patients at this time,” said the spokesperson.

Earlier today, medical scientists said that they made every effort to avoid today’s strike action, but felt they had been left with no other option after a 20-year claim for pay parity with colleagues who do the same work. 

The MLSA has said no approach has been made by the HSE or Department of Health since last week’s strike day, which resulted in the cancellation of thousands of procedures and appointments.

Picket line

Speaking to The Journal at the picket outside St James’ Hospital in Dublin this morning, MLSA industrial relations officer Bronagh O’Leary said the union believes the HSE has “room to manoeuvre” despite public pay agreements. 

“We’ve been trying to be very reasonable in that process, but this is a 20-year claim,” she said. 

The dispute centres on a decades-long demand for pay parity with colleagues in laboratories who are doing the same work. The union has said medical scientists are paid on average 8% less than colleagues in hospital laboratories who are doing the same work. Medical laboratory aides, who report to medical scientists, also start on a higher salary.

O’Leary said the issue goes back to the 50s and 60s when biochemists had a college degree, while medical scientists – then referred to as lab technicians – trained on the job.

“That’s been dead for a long, long time. I went to college, I’m a graduate of the 80s, I have a degree, I have a masters,” she said.

70% of our of our scientists have masters degrees, and they are state registered with Coru [the health and social care regulator] and they’ve done a clinical placement in all the disciplines of the laboratory and they are best served to to do this work. Meanwhile, they work alongside the clinical biochemists who do the same work, but get 8% more because somebody in the 50s had a degree from Trinity.

A 2001 expert report recommended pay parity for medical scientists. This was briefly implemented, but was lost within months in the first public service benchmarking process in June 2002, which evaluated the pay and jobs of public service roles. 

Simon Hogan, who works in the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, said workers had been promised that pay parity would be restored but “it just never happened”. 

“We feel like we’re being ignored because the nature of our job is patient-orientated, there’s more of a moral obligation to work away,” he said.

Other issues that form part of the dispute include access to career progression opportunities and training as well as an expansion of the role leading to an increased workload.

Hospital disruption

Thousands of appointments and procedures have again been cancelled today as medical scientists strike.

The action involves the withdrawal of routine laboratory services from 8am to 8pm on both days, affecting routine hospital and GP services across the country.

Tony Canavan, CEO of the Saolta Hospital Group, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that at least 800 elective procedures will be cancelled in that hospital group alone.

A number of derogation have been agreed with medical scientists and this will ensure Emergency Department tests are still processed. Chemotherapy services will also continue on both days. 

However routine testing of inpatients will not take place. 

“We have over 2,000 patients in hospital beds today,” he said.

“There’ll be no routine testing on them. We rely on those tests to tell us if a patient is deteriorating and in the absence of that testing there is the risk that a patient will deterioration we won’t be able to respond to that quickly enough.”

If no progress is made a further three days of action are planned for next week on 31 May, 1 June and 2 June. In a ballot of MLSA members last November 98% voted in favour of taking the action.

The strike was raised with Taoiseach Micheál Martin during Leaders’ Questions today, where he paid tribute to the medical scientists, stating they were “instrumental” and “crucial” to the Government’s response to Covid-19. 

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty said that the workers felt that no one had listened to them for the past 20 years that they have been raising issues. 

The Taoiseach encouraged all parties to work towards getting the dispute resolved in the Work Relations Commission (WRC) or the Labour Court, stating those are the arenas that these issues should be resolved.

Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy said the country cannot countenance another three days of strike action next week, stating that patient safety is being put at risk. 

Thousands of appointments have been cancelled, she said. 

Medical scientists are the “hidden heroes” of the health service, she added. 

The Taoiseach acknowledged the disruption the strike was having on the health service, stating that no one wanted to see it, including the workers on strike. 

- With reporting from Rónán Duffy from the picket outside St James’ Hospital and Tadgh McNally

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    Mute whatistheseason
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    Jul 16th 2021, 9:57 AM

    I have volunteered to be part of the control group for this experiment

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    Mute John Drake - Zoomers is OUT NOW!
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    Jul 16th 2021, 10:06 AM

    @whatistheseason: Congratulations! You have earned a nomination for this year’s Darwin Awards.

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    Mute whatistheseason
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    Jul 16th 2021, 10:09 AM

    @John Drake – Zoomers is OUT NOW!: We’ll see, but it looks likely that Covid won’t get me considering I’ve been travelling around the world all the way through this pandemic. And this vaccine has not been tested like previous vaccines. Ever hear of what happened with thalmolide?

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    Mute whatistheseason
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    Jul 16th 2021, 10:11 AM

    *thalidomide

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    Mute Darren Norris
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    Jul 16th 2021, 11:47 AM

    @whatistheseason: it is a key WHO medicine. Was not able to know the effects on every type of person at the time but still a valid and important medicine. Are you trying to scare people on vaccines with Facebook jargon?

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    Mute SmallbutMighty
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    Jul 16th 2021, 12:33 PM

    @whatistheseason: except it has been tested to the same standards as every other vaccine.

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    Mute James Ward
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    Jul 16th 2021, 12:40 PM

    @whatistheseason: funny that the same company who created thalidomide, manufacture the biggest selling pain relief/stomach relief product in Ireland. maybe helps with back relief for tin hats as well!

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    Mute whatistheseason
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    Jul 16th 2021, 3:24 PM

    @SmallbutMighty: No because other vaccines have average of 10 years before they were cleared for the general population. There’s no substitute for time and experience no matter how sophisticated they think they are. Add to that the fact that the vaccine manufacturers got an 100% indemnity, any dissent on traditional/social media is immediately crucified, the main stream news has gone way over to the left, has a lot of propaganda and can’t be trusted, people are at their wits end with the lockdowns, most people are afraid of stepping out of line and the pharmaceutical industry is there to make a profit. You can’t just go along with everything you are told, you have to investigate. If there was an actual debate and more dissent on the issue I would be more inclined to take the vaccine. However the fact that everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet is the thing that worries me the most. Conforming to the majority opinion is nothing to be proud of, nothing. Wake up sheeple.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNmx2Kj628M

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    Mute whatistheseason
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    Jul 16th 2021, 3:29 PM

    @James Ward: FTW I mean are you trying to make my point for me?!

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    Mute Paul
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    Jul 16th 2021, 10:08 AM

    Nice weather for it

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    Mute Jonathan
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    Jul 16th 2021, 11:19 AM

    Get them into you

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    Mute Rob
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    Jul 16th 2021, 9:56 AM

    Will those aged 35 and older be able to register through the portal for AZ or JJ? Leo mentioned they would at a briefing a few weeks ago but no mention of it since.

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    Mute Ryan O'Rourke
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    Jul 16th 2021, 10:12 AM

    @Rob: if you register it goes to a page and asks you if youre happy to receive Astra. No mention of J&J, presume that’s only through pharmacies?

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    Mute Rob
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    Jul 16th 2021, 10:53 AM

    @Ryan O’Rourke: The AZ option is there for all age groups?

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    Mute Rob
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    Jul 16th 2021, 11:04 AM

    @Rob: Its ok, I just registered but no option to choose AZ. No worries will decline my appointment when offered one and sit tight!

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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Jul 16th 2021, 11:13 AM

    @Rob: I just booked it and you are automatically register for pfizer and moderna and can also select Astrazeneca if you are willing to get it.

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    Mute Rob
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    Jul 16th 2021, 11:16 AM

    @Diarmuid Hunt: I’m 41 so that must be for younger age groups?

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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Jul 16th 2021, 1:49 PM

    @Rob: I’d imagine so as the AZ side effects though extremely rare have a higher occurrence in younger age groups.

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