RCN lead the march on Jersey

Published: 27 February 2013

The Royal College of Nursing on Jersey led more than 500 nurses, midwives, health care assistants, their families and friends through the streets of St Helier in a rally on Saturday 23 Feb.

After more than a year of stalled negotiations the States Employment Board made their “final” pay offer to members, that was subsequently rejected. The offer was:
2012- 1% unconsolidated (non negotiable and to be imposed and paid before Christmas)
2013 – 3% consolidated
2014 - 4% consolidated

Pay on Jersey is very different to that on mainland UK in that the pay is negotiated locally, there is no Pay Review Body making an independent recommendation – nurses here aren’t in the Agenda for Change pay scales. An equal pay review was carried out in 2012 by the staff side executive of the three nursing unions, and representatives of Health and Social Services management, and the States Employment Relations Department. The review unanimously concluded that there was a need in 2012 for an urgent and meaningful pay increase for nurses and midwives.

South East Regional Director, Patricia Marquis attended the rally and said: “We weren’t just marching on pay. A number of factors had combined to make members so angry. We were also marching to address severe recruitment and retention difficulties on Jersey and to make sure we are ready for the future: we have to modernise and have the workforce to do that.”

Chairman of the Nurses’ and Midwives Joint Executive (staff side) and Chair of the RCN Jersey Branch Kenny McNeil said they believed that the current pay offer did not address long-standing problems over pay. Kenny said: “Although this was an improved deal compared to that made to other public sector workers, a two per cent increase over three years does not significantly close the gap between the salaries of others in comparable roles. Just before the march last week, the Chief Minister said he would review of the current offer made to nurses, but we do not want to wait too long for a response and will be speaking to our members about the next steps they might consider taking soon.”