LCR23265

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Referral under Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

BACKGROUND:

This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on 27th January 2026 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.      

A Labour Court hearing took place on 15th April 2026.             

RECOMMENDATION:

This is a claim by the Union for payment of a salary scale equivalent to the salary of GPs in addiction services for 26 IMO GP members who were originally employed in Breast Check in Galway University Hospital. Currently their members are on two separate pay rates. The rate they are seeking is Grade Code 152X which is applied in two other locations to GPs carrying out similar duties. However, the Employer states that the grade code is not available for them to use.

 The Union submitted that its members are qualified GPs and are employed in various services within Galway University Hospital including within the Emergency Department and the Breast Check Service where they are providing specialist services. They stated that there are no nationally agreed arrangements for GPs directly employed by the HSE except in some specific areas including the addiction services and within some public nursing homes. The IMO first raised this issue with the Employer on 13 March 2023. The Union by email of 3 April 2023 were advised by the Employer that the matter was being progressed as a priority. The Union continued to engage with the Employer on this issue. In August 2023 the employer acknowledged that there were delays but did not elaborate on why.

On 5 October 2023 the Union were advised that the issue was with the General Manager. At this stage the Union had shared a number of relevant documents with the Employer to assist in the resolution of the issue. In November 2023 the Union escalated the matter to Hospital Group level. In early 2024 the Union were advised that management were seeking national advice as they had no local funding to address the issue. In April 2024 the Union were advised that the Employer could not concede the claim but would look at individual terms and conditions. In December 2024 the Employer made an offer to move individuals on the lower Principal Medical Officer scale to the Specialist in Public Health Medicine scale which the other staff were on, but they could not concede the move to GPSAA rate (Grade code 152X) for the 26 members who were covered by the claim.

The Union stated that there are 11 people on the Principal Medical Officer scale and 15 on the SPHM scale. The Union engaged in good faith in pursuing this scale for their members and were led to believe this was achievable and was being processed. This was then withdrawn on the basis that the Employer did not have funding to concede the claim, and the grade code was not one they could apply. 

The Employer submitted that that Grade Code 152 X has not yet been configured for national use and that the HSE North and West region do not have authority to implement the grade code for this cohort of staff. They accept that there are localised agreements in two hospitals in different regions where GP’s have been placed on those scales. They are also aware of other hospitals in other regions that are paying the SPHM scale that they are paying. They accept that paying the PMO scale is out of sync with other areas and the majority of their own staff. The Employer accepts that engagement took place and indicated they had sought approval, but no national sanction was received to concede the claim. It was their position that they want to stick to paying staff using grade codes on the consolidated scales. Even if they wanted to concede the claim, they cannot meet the cost from their own budget and would not receive any funding for it.

Discussion

 In response to questions from the Court, the Employer and the Unions accepted that this claim has national implications with the potential to have knock on claims in other areas. It is unfortunate that the Employer did not indicate at the start of the process that it would have to get national sanction to use the grade code rather than engaging in a way that suggested the claim could be conceded and paid.

 Recommendation

The Court having read the parties submissions and listened carefully to the oral submissions made on the day, and noting that there is no justification for having some people on a lower scale recommends that the people on the PMO scale be moved to the SPHM scale with effect from 1 July 2024. In respect of the move to the GPSSA scale the Union should explore the possibility of pursuing this as a national claim.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Louise O'Donnell
AR	______________________
17th June, 2026	Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Mr Aidan Ralph, Court Secretary.