[brian]

Reacting to today's announcement by the Prime Minister that public sector workers, including nurses, could have their salaries set for three years rather than 12 months, Royal College of Nursing General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said;

"Irrespective of whether salaries are set for three years or 12 months, what nurses want and deserve is a fair deal. And given that mortgages, council tax, transport costs and energy bills are all on the rise right now, a fair deal for nurses is one that reflects the real cost of living."

"If we were to sign up to a long-term pay settlement in today's volatile economy we must have a mechanism that will protect the living standards of nurses from any future rises in inflation. What's right now may not be right in two years time."

"There are good multi-year deals and bad multi-year deals. The difference between the two depends on how much is on the table. So we await with interest the full details of what the government has in mind."

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.

Royal College of Nursing

[sharrie]

Thanks for this post Brian, I think that UK nurses have lost confidence in any pay deals as we rarely get the rate of inflation and with house prices and interest rates increasing it is becoming more and more difficult to make ends meet.

I usually manage to find something positive as I do truly love my job but have had my pay band given to me today and it is dissapointing to say the least so today nursing in the UK really really stinks .

[Silverdragon102]

Days like this when reading what they want to do with pay I am glad I am taking a bit of a career break

[sharrie]

SD it's days like today that I am glad I am going on holiday.

Bloody agenda for change.

I am very grumpy and want to work in Tescos

[scattycarrot]

Not Tescos! You want to work in lovely Waitrose! Fab discounts in John Lewis!!!!

As for the topic of this thread....no-one on their right mind surely thinks that setting pay for 3 years is in any shape or form acceptable. I hear the thud of experienced feet runnng for the hills (or Waitrose!), leaving the newbies to sink or swim. Which considering how little support they willl get from the managment, will probably be sink. Which is where the NHS is going.....down the plug hole.

[oramar]

WSJ and CNBC are filled with stories about how the UK has experienced an economic boom last 10 years or so. Stories about insurance companies based in London and how they have gotten fabously wealthy. Also many stories about the about the wealth of the Celtic Tiger. Can't they divert some of this wealth to taking care of their fellow human beings in the NHS, patients AND nurses? This penny pinching would be understandable if they were just coming off a 10 year depression or recession but just the oposite is true. My guess is that conservatives are dominating the goverment in UK just as they have dominated it in USA. Conservatives do not believe that human beings have a basic right to health care. As for nurses, why would anyone wealthly care what happens to a nurse, just a waitress/maid as far as they are concerned. Interesting enough, conservatives in USA seem to think goverment handouts for the wealthy are just fine. I wonder if it is same in UK. I admit I am an American trying to grasp a situation that has nothing to do with me so if I am off base please enlighten me.