Health unions were united in their condemnation of the government’s pay award for NHS staff this week pointing to the need to do more to support staff and stem the flow of staff leaving the NHS
After a series of real terms pay cuts over the last decade union leaders are in no mood to accept this latest offer of 4% against inflation which currently stands at 11.7%.
According to figures by the Health Foundation the pay of nurses and health visitors has dropped by £1,600 over the past decade, whilst scientists, therapists and technical staff earn around £2,400 less in real terms.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Chief Executive and General Secretary Pat Cullen “A pay rise of 4% would be an insult, leaving an experienced nurse more than £1,400 a year worse off. Ministers have a very important choice to make – deliver an above inflation pay rise for the nursing profession or the current exodus of staff will continue, putting more patients at risk,” she explained.
Full story in The Lowdown, 25 July 2022