The hardening of attitudes within the HSE and the Department of Health, with threats to dock the proportion of extra pay nurses got for agreeing to take part in benchmarking and the rapidly escalating industrial action to be taken this week by nurses across the country, are the stuff of pre-partnership wage battles. They are backing everyone into an unproductive blind alley. Given the fact that sick people are the pawns in the middle, sooner rather than later, the consequences will cause both sides to be shamed or shocked into going back into talks and finding an agreement.

The anger of the nurses is palpable, with scenes bordering on hysteria at last week's conference.

There is a growing sense that there is "no talking" to them . . . whatever is said, they don't want to hear it unless it is total capitulation to their demands to work fewer hours and be paid 10.6% more.

At this stage, the only political party that is willing to agree to the extra 1bn to the HSE wage bill, that settling in favour of the nurses will cost, is Sinn Fein. All the main party leaders are toeing the social partnership line. This is Mary Harney's headache at the moment, but both Enda Kenny and Pat Rabbitte know that if they cave in for political gain today, they invite industrial mayhem if they form the next government.

The HSE should withdraw the aggressive tactic of threatening to dock pay. But if it doesn't, why not settle that dispute in the High Court, as it says it will, rather than taking it out on patients?

Pay rises can only be settled through a benchmarking review . . . a route to extra cash that is so rarely unsuccessful it seems madness to eschew its largesse. Nurses should go back to the talks before, for some unfortunate patient, it is too late.