183.—(1) A person who is transferred under the provisions of this Act to a board of management shall not, while in the service of the board, save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association, receive a lesser scale of pay or be made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service than the scale of pay to which that person was entitled and the terms and conditions of service to which he or she was subject immediately before the day on which he or she was so transferred.

(2) Until such time as the scale of pay and the terms and conditions of service of a person transferred under the provisions of this Act to a board of management are varied by the board, with the agreement of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, following consultation with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned, the scale of pay to which he or she was entitled and the terms and conditions of service, restrictions, requirements and obligations to which he or she was subject immediately before his or her transfer shall continue to apply to him or her and may be applied or imposed by the board while he or she is a member of its staff, and no such variation shall operate to worsen the scale of pay or the terms or conditions of service aforesaid applicable to such person immediately before the day on which he or she was so transferred, save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association.

(3) In this section “recognised trade union or staff association” means a trade union or staff association recognised by the board of management concerned for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of employees.