“Nursing staff have been waiting on the implementation of this pay award for some months and while we acknowledge this is a step in the right direction to recognise the hard-working staff in our health services, for our members, it is not a big enough step. Staff will be relieved that they are no longer out of pay parity with their colleagues in England and Wales, but this does not resolve the RCN’s current dispute on pay.
“Our campaign is about achieving a pay rise to help address the cost-of-living crisis, encourage people to join and stay in the nursing profession and begin to restore a decade of underpayment. Unfortunately, this uplift won’t do anything to recruit or retain the nursing staff our health service desperately needs. It doesn’t recognise the skill and responsibility of the jobs our members do and won’t keep patients safe.
“We are back to having nearly 3000 nursing vacancies in Northern Ireland. This is a staggering proportion of nursing staff who are missing from our service and who should be caring for patients. Until we resolve the difficulties in pay, our health service will remain an unattractive proposition for many nursing staff who are not only leaving the HSC but are leaving the profession altogether.
“If we truly value the health service, we must resolve the crisis in nursing.”
