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Cé a Thugann Cúram do na Cúramóirí?

05/11/09

(English version follows.)

Agus an éigeandáil eacnamaíoch, cruthaithe ag teipeanna agus saint gan srian an chórais chaipitligh, agus í ag leanacht léi, cluineann muid a lán ó na meáin agus scothaicme polaitíochta agus ghnó faoin dóigh a bhfuil muid uilig “istigh i seo le chéile”.

Ach déantar beagán riamh don fhadhb sheanbhunaithe faoi dtaobh de dhúshaothrú shaothar an lucht oibre. Déanann siad plé fada ar na ciorruithe a deir siad atá de dhíth le geilleagar teipthe na hÉireann a chobhsú, na giorruithe pá is gá a dhéanamh agus “cé a ghlacfas an buille”. Tá an chuma air áfach gur éalaigh sé ó aird na ndaoine seo gur, le fada an lá, gur gnáthfhir agus gnáthmhná an lucht oibre atá ag glacadh an bhuille.

Glac mar shampla an foireann in Áras Ghaoth Dobhair, teach altranais i gCondae Dhún na nGall. I bhfad sula raibh aon trácht ar ghéarchóra creidmheasa agus ar mheathlú nagus na giorruithe dá éis, bhí foireann an tí altranais seo – bunaithe in 2004 ag páirtíocht den FSS [HSE], Údarás na Gaeltachta agus grúpa pobail áitiúil le cúram a thabhairt do mhuintir aosta agus easlána na háite – ag éileamh pá agus coinníollacha cothroma ar par leo siúd i dtithe altramais an FSS.

Tá an cúram agus aird atá ag cúramóirí agus foireann Áras Ghaoth Dobhair dá n-othracha soiléir nó tá an t-aighneas seo ag dul ar aghaidh le breis agus trí bliana agus díreach anois atá an cinneadh déanta acu dul ar stailc. Thug an fhoireann fógra dhá mhí faoin stailc don teach altranais freisin, ag ligint do shocruithe bheith déanta le cinntiú nach mbeadh aon drochthoradh ar na cliaint. Rinne na hoibrithe agus a n-ionadaithe ceardchumainn a seacht ndícheall le stailc a sheachaint, ach fágadh iad gan dara rogha nuair nár fhill an fostóir ar an cheardchumann le moladh chun deireadh a chur leis an aighneas, mar a bhí aontaithe. Le taca ó SIPTU, chuaigh foireann an tí altranais ar an líne phicéid Dé hAoine 23ú Deireadh Fómhair do stailc 48 uair in iarracht téarmaí agus coinníollacha oibre ar aon dul le fostaithe FSS ag déanamh an job chéanna.

Cé nach saoráid an FSS é an teach altranais, freastalaíonn sé den chuid is mó ar othracha FSS agus rinne amhlaidh ónar oscail an áit. Ach faigheann an fhoireann a thugann cúram do na hothracha seo – d’ainneoin go bhfuil beagnach gach leaba léasaithe ag an FSS agus an fhoireann traenálaithe ag an FSS agus foireann bhainistíochta ón FSS – faigheann siad pá agus coinníollacha níos ísle ná mar atá sa FSS. Ní fhaigheann siad teidlíocht phinsin ná pá breoiteachta. Baintear laethanta tinne óna saoire bhliantúil agus tá a bpá i bhfad níos lú ná leath an phá a fhaigheann daoine fostaithe in aonaid an FSS.

Mar is gnáth, seachnaíonn an FSS an cheist ar bhealach cosúil lena máistrí polaitiúla, trí rá nach bhfuil aon rud le rá acu ar an ábhar. Deir siad nach saoráid de chuid an FSS é Áras Ghaoth Dobhair, d’ainneoin an pháirt mhór ina bhainistiú agus gur as an earnáil phoiblí iad tromlach mór na n-othracha. Cé go bhfuil na fostaithe dícheallacha seo ag tógáil maide as uisce do bhainistíocht an FSS, agus cé go ndéanann siad an obair seo go dothuirsithe agus le tiomantas iomlán dá n-othracha, déanann siad é do bheagán airgid agus faoi théarmaí míchothroma.

Tá an cheist seo ina sampla d’éagomrathais an chórais sna Sé Chondae Fichead. Thig leis an FSS dul i bhfolach faoin nóisean go bhfuil an teach altranais bainistithe go príobháideach, ach ní thig leo droim a thabhairt do na hoibrithe a thugann cúram d’othracha FSS ná teacht i dtír ar a bpaisean dá gcuid oibre. Tá dualgas ag an FSS aire a thabhairt dá n-othracha agus an fhoireann bhanaltrachta araon, mar an gcéanna leis an rialtas.

Ghlaoigh urlabhraí éirígí Thír Chonaill Mícheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, a sheas gualainn le gualainn leis na hoibrithe ar an líne phicéid, ghlaoigh sé ar gach oibrí agus ar an phobal ar fad seasamh leo siúd atá ar stailc.

Dúirt Mac Giolla Easbuig: “Moltar na oibrithe san aighneas seo as an ghníomh s’acu. Tá tacaíocht gach oibrí agus an pobal ar fad anseo in Iarthar Thír Chonaill tuilte acu.”

Lean sé leis: “Dlíonn na oibrithe anseo go gcaitear leo le meas agus go cothrom le hoibrithe eile fostaithe ag an HSE atá ag déanamh obair chosúil. Leagann sé béim arís eile an gá do dheireadh leis an scoilt phoiblí/phríobháideach inár seirbhís shláinte. Níl aon áit do chomhlachtaí príobháideacha i soláthar chúram sláinte.”

Who Cares for the Carers?

As the continuing economic crisis created by the failures and the unbridled greed of the capitalist system rumbles on, we hear much from the media and the business and political classes as to how we are supposedly “all in this together”.

But little is ever made of the long standing problem of how the labour of the working people is exploited. They discuss at length the cut backs they claim need to be made to stabilise the failed economy, the pay cuts that need to be made and “who should take the hit”. However, it seems to have escaped the attention of these people that, for a long time, it has been working men and women who have been taking the hit.

Take as an example the staff of Áras Ghaoth Dobhair, a nursing home in County Donegal. Long before there was any mention of credit crunches and recessions and the subsequent cut backs, the staff of this nursing home – set up in 2004 by a partnership of the Twenty-Six County Health Services Executive, Údarás na Gaeltachta and a local community group to care for the elderly and infirm of the area – were calling for fair pay and conditions on a par with those in similar HSE nursing homes.

The care and attention the carers and staff of Áras Ghaoth Dobhair have for their patients is evident in the fact that this dispute has been ongoing for over three years and only now have they taken the decision to strike. The staff also gave the nursing home two months notice of their strike, allowing for provisions to be made to ensure there would be no negative impact on the clients.

The workers and their union representatives have done all they could to avoid the strike action, but they were left with no alternative when the employer failed to revert to the union with a proposal to end the dispute, as had been agreed. Backed by SIPTU, the nursing home staff took to the picket line on Friday, October 23 for a 48-hour strike in an effort to try and achieve similar working terms and conditions in line with HSE employees doing the same job.

The nursing home, while not a HSE facility, caters mainly for HSE patients and has done so since it opened. However, the staff who care for these patients - despite nearly all of the beds being leased by the HSE and the staff trained by the HSE and management staff from the HSE – have inferior pay and conditions compared to those in the HSE. They do not receive pension entitlements or sick pay. Days off sick are deducted from their annual leave and their pay is considerably less than that of staff employed in HSE units.

Typically, the HSE avoid the issue in a similar vein to that of their political bosses, by saying that they have no comment to make on the issue. They say Áras Ghaoth Dobhair is not a HSE facility, despite having such a hand in its running and that a large majority of the patients are from the public sector. Despite the fact that these hard working employees are picking up the slack to cover the backs of the HSE management and despite the fact that, even though they do this work tirelessly and with total commitment to their clients, they do it for a relative pittance and with unfair terms.

This whole issue is an example of the inequalities of the social and economic system in the Twenty-Six Counties. The HSE might hide behind the notion that the nursing home is privately run, but they cannot turn their backs on the workers who care for HSE patients and take advantage of their passion for their work. The HSE have a responsibility to look after both the patients and the nursing staff, as indeed does the Dublin government.

Donegal éirígí spokesperson Mícheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, who has stood side by side with the workers on the picket line, has called for all workers and the local community to stand behind those carrying out the strike action.

Mac Giolla Easbuig said: “The workers involved in this dispute are to be commended for their actions. They deserve the support of all workers and of the community in West Donegal.”

He added: “The workers in Áras Ghaoth Dobhair deserve to be treated with respect and treated equally with other workers employed by the HSE who are carrying out similar duties. This dispute highlights, once again, the need for an end to the public/private divide in the health service in the Twenty-Six Counties. There is no place for private companies in the provision of health care.”

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