Three-year pay deal on the table

Published: 07 April 2008

Following talks on Friday 5 April, the RCN is delighted to put its name to proposals for a three-year pay deal.

The government has been keen to secure multi-year agreements for public sector staff but the RCN has always said that it would only consider signing up to a three-year deal if it was fair and offered nurses protection against future rises in inflation. These proposals do just that.

The proposals, agreed by the RCN, Unison, NHS Employers and the Department of Health for NHS staff, put forward a package worth 7.99 per cent in total.

This includes a 2.75 per cent increase in 2008/09 which upholds the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation in full for this year.

The deal would also include a rise of 2.4 per cent in 2009/10 and 2.25 per cent in 2010/11. Changes to incremental points for staff employed in bands 1, 5 and 6 would reward some of the RCN’s lowest paid members as well as those progressing up the career ladder. The third year of the deal would see a flat rate of £420 for those on points 1 – 13 (i.e. the bottom of Band 1 to the bottom 2 points of Band 4) which would benefit those such as the RCN’s health care assistant members.

Most importantly, built into the deal is the opportunity to re-open talks should the economic situation change or the NHS experience recruitment and retention difficulties.

The trade unions covered by Agenda for Change will now consider the proposed agreement negotiated by the RCN and Unison.

The Scottish, Northern Ireland and Welsh governments were represented at the talks and are expected to give their views next week. The RCN expects that the proposals will apply in full in those countries.

Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary says: "Nurses can now focus on doing what matters most, delivering high quality patient care, safe in the knowledge they have some degree of security over their household finances in the coming years. An important part of the package we have negotiated is to ensure nurses are protected against future price rises so we are delighted to have won a commitment to re-open pay talks should inflation rise sharply or if there are significant changes to the labour market. This process will be overseen by the independent pay review body.

"We have long argued that fair pay and decent conditions are vital to keep experienced nurses in the profession, while attracting much needed new blood. Given the uncertain economic climate and the government's tough public sector pay policy, this package, worth 7.99 percent over three years, is better than expected and goes some way towards bridging the gap between nurses' pay and other public sector workers. We will now be consulting our members for their views on this proposed agreement. Details of the RCN's consultation will be announced shortly."

The parties have also agreed to hold further talks on proposals to reduce the number of incremental pay points (starting with bands 6 and 7). This could lead to staff in those bands reaching the highest value pay point sooner. Claims for a shorter working week will also be considered as part of discussions on productivity improvements in the NHS.

The parties also agreed a revised trade union facilities agreement and a work-life balance and well-being statement.