The doctors' trade union, the IMO, has agreed not to take industrial action on behalf of its GP members in future as part of a legal deal agreed with the Competition Authority yesterday, which allows for negotiations to be initiated on the under sixes free GP care scheme.

The agreement with the Competition Authority includes an undertaking by the IMO 'not to organise or recommend the collective withdrawal of services or boycotts by its members' as a means of influencing fee rates to be decided on by the Health Minister, or the HSE or a third party.

The agreement also states that the IMO has agreed not to undertake such action in response to terms that may be offered from time to time by a Health Minister to GPs on publicly-funded GP services.

The deal, however, recognises the IMO's right to discuss with the Health Minister/HSE the 'scope, content, resources allocated to and fees payable' in respect of GP services in future. The Authority also says it has no objection to fee rates being recommended by a third party appointed by the Minister, but the Minister must still make a final decision on GP fees following any discussions and deliberations.

The deal between the IMO and the Authority, coupled with a new framework agreement with the Department of Health, gives the doctors' union greater leeway than before to represent its GP members and to discuss GP fee levels and resourcing with the State.

The Competition Authority had previously questioned whether the IMO had the right to discuss fees or related matters collectively on behalf of its GP members,who are indepdent self-employed contractors, while the IMO had disputed this. The IMO last year fell foul of the Authority for threatening to withdraw GPs from HSE schemes and initiatives as a result of Government-imposed fee cuts.

However, the Authority's previous contention that the IMO could not collectively organise such withdrawals of its GP members from State scheme appears to have been upheld in the new agreement.

The agreement, however, does not affect the IMO's right to take industrial action on behalf of salaried health service employees, such as consultants and junior doctors.

The deal, which settled a High Court action between the two bodies on the GP representation issue, has strengthened the IMO's hand for any future under sixes talks.

However, it will ultimately be up to individual IMO members to decide on whether to accept any new deal, and the IMO cannot advise members collectively whether or not to accept such a deal, according to the terms of the new agreement.

The deal is expected to lead to the initiation of direct talks on the under sixes scheme shortly.

The IMO has been criticised by a rival organisation, the National Associationof GPs (NAGP), following the union's agreement with the Competition Authority.

The NAGP, which had been excluded from previous 'talks about talks' on the under sixes deal, said it was 'appalled' at the terms of the agreement.

It claimed the Competition Authority had secured a number of undertakings from the IMO 'that greatly limits the ability of the organisation to represent its members effectively'.

The NAGP, which does not have a negotiating licence, says it has 1,000 members.

Breakthrough in under sixes GP dispute