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Start nurse pay talks now, urges RCN

Broad boost in pay does not apply to nurses and others on Agenda for Change contracts
Picture shows nurses in conversation on an NHS hospital ward

Broad boost in pay does not apply to nurses and others on Agenda for Change contracts

Picture shows nurses in conversation on an NHS hospital ward
Picture: Alamy

Forcing nurses to wait until next year for a pay rise is ‘not acceptable’, the RCN said after it emerged that a public sector pay increase announced by the chancellor will exclude those on Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts.

NHS nurses and other AfC staff are in the final year of a three-year pay deal, but health unions say they want to see an early pay rise in a year where COVID-19 has increased the burden on an already strained workforce.

‘In this year, of all years, it is time to value these professionals’

The treasury’s announcement means some doctors and hospital and community dentists will receive a pay rise of 2.8% backdated to April.

RCN general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said nursing staff had experienced great public support in the wake of the pandemic and needed to feel the same from government.

‘Telling them to wait until next year is not acceptable – nursing staff deserve a fair pay rise now,’ she said.

‘In this year, of all years, it is time to value these professionals and begin to fill the tens of thousands of vacant posts.’

 

Our Chief Executive and General Secretary tells members why it’s time for the government to start discussions for an early and meaningful pay rise for nursing professionals pic.twitter.com/PjTDgp36xA

— The RCN (@theRCN) July 23, 2020

 

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: ‘The government must show its appreciation by coming up with the cash now to give the rest of the NHS staff – including nurses, porters, ambulance crew and cleaners – an early pay rise this year.’

Unions seek talks on fully funded pay rise for NHS

The RCN, along with 13 other health unions, wrote to ministers on 3 July asking for discussions on a fully funded pay rise for NHS staff.

 

Graham Revie, @GrahamR64Chair, Chair of our Trade Union Committee, explains how our members are leading the RCN’s pay strategy. pic.twitter.com/g7ovdY2H03

— The RCN (@theRCN) July 24, 2020

 

Announcing the public sector pay increase, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘Our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country. It’s right therefore that we follow the recommendations of the independent pay bodies with this set of real-terms pay rises.’

Teachers, police and prison officers, senior civil servants and members of the armed forces, the judiciary and the National Crime Agency also stand to receive increases.

The process for the next pay round for nurses will begin when ministers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland write to the NHS Pay Review Body asking it to make recommendations on NHS pay for the next financial year. This is expected to happen in September.

This story was updated with new information on 24 July.


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