As you will be aware the IMO and other healthcare unions have been campaigning for and representing members at the Labour Court regarding the continuation of supports for those healthcare workers who have been unable to return to work as a result of contracting long Covid. The state side had been unwilling to extend the current scheme, which applies to 159 workers, beyond the 30^th June 2025.

 

The health unions had sought an Occupational Illness Scheme for sufferers of Long Covid similar to Blood Borne Disease Scheme with access for those 159 within the current special leave with pay scheme. The union side also sought that the anomalous situation that workers who were excluded from the scheme find themselves in should be addressed.

 

Disappointingly the Labour Court have recommended:

 

• A final extension of the current scheme from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025, at which point anyone remaining on the scheme should transition to the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme

In relation to those who were excluded from the Special Leave with Pay scheme based on not having been in receipt of the SLWP scheme for 84 days prior to 7^th February 2022 the Court recommend as follows:

• The second cohort of staff as identified by the Union were excluded from the scheme based on either the date of 7 February 2022 and/ or the 84 days. In circumstances where it is not possible to measure the impact of a change to either of those requirements the Court does not believe it would be responsible or reasonable to make a recommendation to change that structure. Where no change to the structure is being recommended, the Court sees no benefit in recommending an independent process to review these individuals’ eligibility

The IMO and other healthcare unions, while recognising that the Labour Court was constrained by the fact that the State had not recognised that Long Covid could be considered an occupational illness, are hugely disappointed in this outcome and are calling on Government to extend the scheme and recognise long Covid as an occupational illness.

Ireland is one of only two Member States of the EU that does not specify if Covid can be considered an accident at work or occupational disease, 16 member states recognise it as an occupational disease, three recognise it as an accident at work, and six recognise it as either an accident at work or an occupational disease.

The IMO will continue to advocate and lobby for this cohort of workers in circumstances where, as the court recognised: “..the 159 Workers covered by the scheme are not currently fit to return to work. This has been medically confirmed by occupational health. The imposition of an end date will not change that”.

The full Labour Court recommendation can be seen here.