[ad_1]
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has demanded that the government reopens pay negotiations after reacting angrily to the pay award for senior doctors.
The union, which represents nurses across the NHS, says nurses would be “appalled” by the pay deal between the government and consultants consisting of a 19% pay rise.
The RCN opposed a deal comprising of a 5% pay rise for 2023/24 and a cash sum, imposed on nurses by the government.
Nurses decided not to continue with strike action once that happened, but the union warned that more than 100,000 voted in favour of it in the last ballot.
It also says that it remains in dispute with the government over pay, and today, has written to the new health secretary, Victoria Atkins, demanding fresh talks.
In the letter, RCN chief executive and general secretary Pat Cullen, writes: “It is time for nurses and nursing to be treated with the respect they deserve and for nursing pay also to be reformed.
“Nursing is one of the most diverse and female-dominated professions within the public sector, and the injustice of nursing pay is also a gender issue.
“The greatest pay inequality in the NHS relates to nursing. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
She called for the government to “invest less time and attention in its attempt to impose draconian anti-strike laws on nursing staff and get back around the table and discuss nursing pay”.
She added: “Every slight discourages another individual from choosing nursing as a profession and puts more patients at risk. The NHS requires the stability of a nursing foundation and now more than ever, this must be resolved.
“We want to be part of the collective effort to rebuild our NHS. It is your responsibility to act now. Nursing staff deserve better.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the hard work of NHS nurses and that is why we provided a 5% pay rise. We also provided two significant non-consolidated awards, which for nurses at the top of Band 5 was over £2,000, equivalent to an extra 6.1% of their basic pay.
“This deal was accepted by the NHS Staff Council and we continue to work collaboratively, including with the RCN, to deliver a series of agreed reforms but we will not be re-opening negotiations on pay.
“The offer for consultants includes significant reform for a pay scale that has not been modified since 2003.”
[ad_2]
Source link