RCN Council votes to accept revised pay offer
Published: 15 September 2007
Dr Peter Carter, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said: “Today the RCN’s ruling council has voted with great reluctance to accept the government’s revised pay offer for nurses in England. Although the immediate threat of industrial action has now been lifted, the government should realise that nurses in England have accepted this offer with a very heavy heart.
“The revised offer is imperfect but it is improved. It was only after months of campaigning by the RCN that the government, which had refused to budge, revised its original offer. We still believe the government’s economic arguments for giving nurses in England their pay award in instalments do not stack up.
“The government should learn the lessons from this year’s pay negotiations - it should not underestimate the long-term implications of this year’s pay round on the morale of the nursing workforce and it should remember that it is much harder to attract first class nurses to the health service by offering them second rate pay.”
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Notes to Editors
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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.