RCN launches Nursing Counts campaign on pay

The RCN wants nurses to share stories of the work they do, which will demonstrate their value as part of a new campaign on pay.

The college has launched its Nursing Counts campaign to highlight how nurses are poorly rewarded for their services.

It said five years of pay restraint has pushed nursing wages further behind the cost of living.

The government has committed to fund only NHS pay rises that result in an average 1% annual uplift across the whole workforce until 2020.

The RCN is calling on its members to speak up about their complex care provision on its Nursing Counts website.

It wants the government to offer a pay deal that reflects the value of this vital work.

RCN council chair Michael Brown said: ‘We want to capture the hearts and minds of people, and increase their understanding of the complexity of the work nurses and health care assistants do.'

The campaign website also has a pay calculator that nurses can use to see how public sector pay restraint affects their earnings.

Click here for the Nursing Counts website.