Responding to rumoured pay award recommendations reported in The Times, RCN Director of Legal, Employment and Member Relations, Jo Galbraith-Marten, said:
“This level of award will do little to turn things around. Nursing is crucial to delivering the government’s reforms, but the profession is in crisis, with fewer people joining and the numbers quitting skyrocketing.
“We need direct negotiations with the government, not a pay review body process from a bygone era. Any pay award must be fully funded, taking resources away from frontline services is unfair on staff and bad for patients. We have a live survey of members open on what they think about the government’s 2.8 per cent proposal and what action, including industrial action, they might be prepared to take.
“When our members meet in two weeks' time at our annual Congress, they need answers, not endless speculation. This year’s pay award is already late, and the government needs to provide some certainty for staff and patients as a matter of urgency.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
The 天美传媒 (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interests of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.
For more information, contact the RCN press office at 020 7647 3633 or email mediateamhq@rcn.org.uk
