Payrise - well, not really

[osceteacher]

So the RCN and Unison told us to vote for the latest 'pay rise' of 3% initial then 6.5% at the end of the 4 years. Like numpties a lot of us (I didn't actually vote but I would have voted yes) believed them.

Now it transpires that they had no clue that most staff are getting at BEST a 1.5-3% pay rise while some are getting as little as 1%.

This has been purposefully obfuscated, remember all the initial porkies about a '29% payrise', then the split payrise, then the backpay, it has all been a mess. A ruse from the government to placate nursing staff.

By the time the 6.5% comes to full fruition inflation will have taken over it anyway.

I feel like going unionless right now, I will earn a massive £8 a week extra, I'm not sure what to spend it all on.

How does everyone else feel?

[GrumpyRN, NP]

I feel you have been shafted - again.

Have you ever had a proper pay rise over the past few years? Remember the cap at 1%?

I'm glad of three things;

1) I am retired so pay is not such an issue but it still affects my pension and I do the occasional bank shift.

2) My wife is still working as a nurse.

3) We are in Scotland and despite what people think about the SNP they are at least trying to be a bit fairer.

What Scotland's 3% pay rise for NHS workers means for you

For what it's worth you have my support and if the RCN ask for my vote to support you I will give it.

[ICunursey, BSN, RN]

I sure hope the unions just got bamboozled and that's why they thought that this was a good deal for nurses...not that they deliberately misled us into voting for this scam. I'm so angry I'm about to turn into the Hulk.

[Phil-on-a-bike]

Interesting post-script to this: our local Unison branch have distributed flyers to all departments 'clarifying' the figures.

The text of the flyer says that they're doing this in response to the wave of enquiries generated by the RCN's misleading coverage of the subject.

Wow. Just... wow.

Our profession may have been - once again - bent over like the new boy in an Alabama prison, but let's not lose sight of what's important here... scoring points off rival professional organizations.

Unbelievable. And this is a glossy, 3-page production, too.

I mean, sure, somebody desktop-publishing savvy, with pre-existing publication templates to hand, who was prepared to drop everything and work on this as soon as the RCN's press release came out, could probably have produced this in response.

What I'm saying is: if you told me they had this written in advance and ready to go... I wouldn't automatically dismiss that possibility.

Just when we need our professional organizations to present a united front, they're squabbling like infants.

If anybody needs me, I'll be playing Billy Bragg and listening with a mix of bruised idealism and rueful cynicism.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Thankful that the union is strong in Canada. Even with all my years experience I get paid more here than I did in the UK.

[osceteacher]

Interesting post-script to this: our local Unison branch have distributed flyers to all departments 'clarifying' the figures.

The text of the flyer says that they're doing this in response to the wave of enquiries generated by the RCN's misleading coverage of the subject.

Wow. Just... wow.

Our profession may have been - once again - bent over like the new boy in an Alabama prison, but let's not lose sight of what's important here... scoring points off rival professional organizations.

Unbelievable. And this is a glossy, 3-page production, too.

I mean, sure, somebody desktop-publishing savvy, with pre-existing publication templates to hand, who was prepared to drop everything and work on this as soon as the RCN's press release came out, could probably have produced this in response.

What I'm saying is: if you told me they had this written in advance and ready to go... I wouldn't automatically dismiss that possibility.

Just when we need our professional organizations to present a united front, they're squabbling like infants.

If anybody needs me, I'll be playing Billy Bragg and listening with a mix of bruised idealism and rueful cynicism.

Unison have on multiple occasions denigrated the RCN yet they themselves said we should accept this pay deal. Pretty crazy.