Thousands of angry nurses flood MPswith letters in pay cut protest
Published: 24 August 2007
Almost eight-thousand nurses have sent a letter to their MPs protesting at the pay award announced last Thursday. The Government has chosen to stage the 2.5 % award, going against the Pay Review Body’s recommendation to give nurses the full award from April. The award averages out at 1.9%, less than half the rate of inflation. With the average wage of a registered nurse being £24,841, this equates to a pay cut in real terms of £570 a year.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is asking more nurses to write to their MP and voice their concerns about the pay cut. A template letter that nurses can use is on the RCN website at www.rcn.org.uk/pay2007. Nurses can also write to the RCN via the website to voice their feeling about the pay issue.
Commenting on the pay award, Dr Peter Carter, General Secretary of the RCN, said: “This shows how angry, frustrated and let down nurses are feeling. The impact of NHS deficits means they are doing more with less staff, they are already overworked and underpaid, and the thanks they get is a cut in pay.
“The proposed award is not acceptable and we will be pressing the Government very hard over the next few weeks at every level to make it reconsider this unjust decision. We will also be consulting with our 400,000 members to gauge their reaction to this and seek their views about the next steps.”
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Notes to Editors
For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/news/mediacentre.php
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.
The pay award for nurses announced last week gives them a 1.5% increase in April 2007, with a further 1% in November 2007.