Pay announcement for Northern Ireland nurses welcomed by RCN
Published: 10 July 2007
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today welcomed the Northern Ireland Executive's decision to implement the independent Pay Review Body's recommendation of a 2.5% pay award for nurses in full, backdated to 1 April 2007.
Announcing the award, MInister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety Michael McGimpsey MLA said: "This pay rise is fully deserved and goes some way towards demonstrating how our health service is valued. I met with the RCN and other unions and left them in no doubt that I would take all steps possible to make good on their pay award."
RCN Northern Ireland Director Mary Hinds commented: “On behalf of nurses throughout Northern Ireland, we congratulate the Executive on making the decision that nurses will be treated fairly and on the same level as their counterparts in Scotland and Wales.
“The RCN has campaigned hard on this issue for many months. We are delighted that Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has been prepared to listen to our case and to support and recognise the value of nurses and the work they do to deliver high quality patient care. We are also grateful to Finance Minister Peter Robinson and his Executive colleagues for facilitating this award, and to the members of the Assembly's Health Committee and politicians from all Northern Ireland's political parties for their support for our campaign. This is a positive step for nursing in Northern Ireland.”
RCN General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said: “We are pleased that nurses in Northern Ireland, like their colleagues in Wales and Scotland, will now receive their pay award in full. However, we now have the ludicrous situation whereby nurses in England are earning less than those in the rest of the United Kingdom. We hope that ministers in England will now honour the recommendations of the independent Pay Review Body.”