RCN repeats above inflation pay rise calls

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has repeated its call for NHS nurses to receive an above inflation pay rise, following new research.

Who Deserves a Pay Rise?, which aired on Channel 4 on 23 October, showed that 41 per cent of nurses earn below the minimum income standard, making it a greater number of nurses living below the standard than police officers (34 per cent) or teachers (30 per cent).

Speaking ahead of the show, Janet Davies, RCN chief executive, said: “This is a timely pre-Budget reminder that the Government has driven down living standards with year after year of real-terms pay cuts, leaving more nursing staff falling behind the acceptable income standard than other public sector workers.

“After telling the Commons that it has scrapped the cap on pay, the government must put its money where its mouth is next month. The Budget must commit the funding to give nurses an above inflation pay award – anything less amounts to another pay cut. The Chancellor cannot ask the NHS to make other cuts to cover pay rises – it must be given new funding to cover the cost.”

The research for for a Channel 4’s Who Deserves a Pay Rise? was conducted by social research agency NatCen.

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This story was first published in digitalhealth.net

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