Posted 13 November 2020 - 09:00
Posted 13 November 2020 - 09:00
News
Nurse pay: RCN launches ‘Clapped us? Back us’ campaign
College asks politicians and public who clapped for nurses during first wave of COVID-19 to back a 12.5% pay rise
RCN uses 'Clapped us? Back us' slogan to lobby politicians and get public backing for a 12.5% nursing pay rise
The public who clapped for nurses are now being asked to back a 12.5% pay rise for them.
The RCN pay campaign reached the streets of Westminster, London, this week with a billboard slogan ‘Clapped us? Back us: Nursing staff are fighting to get their work recognised.’
RCN lobbying UK government for ‘immediate and significant’ pay increase
The billboard was driven past parliament as part of the lobbying effort to persuade the UK government to increase nurses’ pay.
The slogan references the wave of appreciation and applause that the public and politicians showed every Thursday night for the efforts of NHS staff during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
RCN general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair highlighted that the time has come for politicians’ rhetoric to be matched with reality.
Nursing staff ‘worse off now than years ago’ – RCN general secretary
‘The clapping was powerful and lifted the spirits of many, but the government must grasp the nettle this year and value the work of nursing staff,’ she said.
‘The job is tough and complex and yet we are worse off now than years ago. If you clapped us, then now is the time to show you still back us.’
The college is campaigning for all nursing staff on Agenda for Change contracts to receive a one year 12.5% pay increase in the government’s spending review, which is due at the end of November.
10,000 people have already joined RCN pay campaign
A 12.5% increase would see a nurse entering the NHS at band 5 earning about £28,020 a year, a £3,113 increase on the current pay scale.
So far more than 10,000 people have joined the RCN’s pay campaign and have emailed their MP to argue that nurses deserve a pay rise.
Responding to the RCN’s latest campaign event, a Department of Health and Care spokesperson said nurses were already benefiting from a pay rise.
‘NHS nurses are currently benefitting from the final year of a three-year pay deal, agreed with trade unions, which has delivered year-on-year pay increases, such as increasing the starting salary for a newly qualified nurse by over 12% by 2021,’ they said.
The current pay deal is due to end on 1 April 2021.
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