Trade unions have appealed to the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, to help resolve the row over recognition of the role health workers have played during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unions, including the INMO, the IMO, SIPTU and FÓRSA, have sought some sort of special recognition for healthcare staff since late 2020, in the form of staff bonuses or pay increases. They insist that the Government’s failure to act on this issue has put the Republic out of step with Northern Ireland, the UK, and most EU countries, where health workers have already seen recognition of their extraordinary efforts and contribution.

Since the pandemic began, over 30,000 healthcare workers have been infected with the virus.

In a letter to the Taoiseach, sent on August 13, the unions called on him to “intervene immediately to authorise the HSE and relevant government departments to engage with health service unions to agree and implement the promised recognition without any further delay”.

The move reflects increasing frustration among healthcare workers, which was compounded by the HSE’s failure to put forward any proposals at a recent Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) hearing. Instead, the HSE said it was awaiting government authorisation to engage with unions.

The unions pointed out that engagements with the HSE since last November have resulted in no progress, despite public statements from the Taoiseach, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and other senior government figures, in which they supported proposals to recognise health workers’ extraordinary contribution during the pandemic.

“While health workers appreciate the many supportive statements from you and other Government representatives, they have yet to see any tangible progress towards recognition for their efforts and, in many cases, sacrifice,” the letter to the Taoiseach stated.

It also noted that thousands of dedicated healthcare workers “have had their reasonable expectations raised by the welcome public statements of support by you and other politicians”, yet no recognition of this was offered at the WRC meeting in August.

According to Tony Fitzpatrick, who chairs the staff panel of health service unions, this issue is “deeply damaging to the morale of all healthcare workers who, without exception, have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and willingness to respond to national and public need, as well as government demands”.

The unions have referred this dispute to the Labour Court, but they insist that this should not have been necessary due to the broad public and political consensus on the issue.