In a letter to Fórsa the HSE has said that perfusionists will now be paid at the same rate as medical scientists, as directed by the Labour Court.  Following receipt of written confirmation from the HSE, Fórsa paused planned industrial action. Talks will now take place to determine how and when pay restoration will happen. 

 
The action had been scheduled to take place on Thursday 2nd, Friday 3rd and Monday 6th July. The pause follows an indication from the HSE that it is prepared to move to implement the Labour Court recommendation, which found that the long-standing pay link between perfusionists and medical scientists had been breached and should be restored with retrospective effect to 1st January 2024. 
 
Fórsa has been clear that the recommendation must be implemented in full, and have rejected management’s stated intention use the local bargaining clause of the Public Service Agreement 2024 - 2026 to resolve this and reminded the HSE that this is a situation where the employer is required to correct an anomaly of its own making rather than respond to a claim. 

The union's position is that the local bargaining provisions are too limited in scope to give full effect to the recommendation, and that using them in this way would risk diluting the Labour Court’s findings and creating further complications. 
 
The decision to pause the action has been taken to allow focused engagement with the HSE on a credible pathway to implementation. 
 
Fórsa official Ryan McKinney said: “The Labour Court recommendation is clear. This is a matter of implementation, not negotiation. We will now engage with the HSE to ensure that the recommendation is honoured in full and in a way that does not create further complications.” 

The union will keep members informed as talks progress. If a satisfactory pathway to implementation is not agreed, industrial action will resume, with stoppages already notified for Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th July. 

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