RCN Council to meet on January 10th to discuss action over pensions

Published: 24 November 2011

For immediate release: Thursday 24th November 2011

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today confirmed that Council would meet on January 10th to discuss action over Government proposals on NHS pensions.

At their meeting earlier this month, Council were unanimous in concluding:

“That members' serious concerns over the Government's pension proposals must be addressed in a credible way through continued negotiations. If negotiations fail by the end of December 2011, Council will authorise a ballot on industrial action at a meeting in January.”

Professor Kath McCourt, Chair of RCN Council, said:
“At the meeting in November, Council members representing nursing staff from all the regions and countries of the UK reported that our members are very angry about the attacks on their pensions. We said then that we would move towards a ballot of our members in the new year if negotiations were to fail. We will look closely at the situation in the run up to the meeting on January 10th and will then be ready to do whatever is necessary to protect our members’ pensions.”

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, said:
“The NHS pension scheme has already been reformed, and nurses have accepted the need to pay more towards their pensions during their careers. Nurses are only asking for something they have earned – a fair provision for their retirement. We are committed to seeing through negotiations with the government, but there should be no doubt about the strength of feeling our members are expressing.”

Ends

Notes for Editors

1. For further information, please contact the RCN Media Office on 020 7647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
2. The 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