The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union has developed a template for members and supporters to email their local MP and ask the government to commit to a pay rise for nurses at next month’s government spending review.
As part of their ongoing Fair Pay For Nursing campaign, the Royal College of Nursing has today released an easy-to-use template for members and supporters of the union to email their MP and request better pay for nurses.
The aim is to get as many people asking the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to commit to a fully-funded 12.5% pay award for the nursing sector ahead of the government’s spending review at the end of November. The union is urging nursing staff and supporters from across the UK to call for a ‘meaningful’ pay rise for nurses across all pay bands, and says that “a 12.5% pay award would recognise the value of the profession and address the workforce crisis”.
The government spending review, which is expected at the end of November, is set to prioritise the response to the coronavirus pandemic – something nursing staff continue to play a significant role in.
Dame Donna Kinnair, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said: “Even though nursing staff have tackled a global pandemic with 50,000 nursing vacancies across the UK, the government continues to undervalue them. It can’t hope to fill staffing shortages with our current poor pay levels.
“Next month, the government can right a historic wrong and show nurses they truly are valued.
“We are not asking for a COVID-19 bonus – paying nursing staff fairly is a political choice. Cash-strapped health services can’t increase pay on their existing budgets. The Chancellor must make the right decision.”
To take part in the campaign, visit the RCN site and email your MP to demand Fair Pay For Nursing here
Nursing staff are worse off than they were ten years ago as nursing pay has not kept pace with inflation. Email your MP and tell them why nursing staff deserve fair pay. #FairPayForNursing
👉 https://t.co/Aj50nQy1Sx pic.twitter.com/qSKGtYZJkJ— The RCN (@theRCN) October 28, 2020
The RCN’s Fairer Pay For Nursing campaign has been set up to address the lack of acknowledgement for nurses skills and dedication, as well as the rising number of vacancies within the nursing sector.
The campaign aims to secure a fully-funded 12.5% pay increase for all nursing staff covered by Agenda for Change terms, as part of a one-year deal that applies equally to all bands.
The Fair Pay For Nursing campaign is focused on:
- recognising the complexity of skill, responsibility and experience demonstrated every day, by nursing support workers, assistant practitioners, nursing associates, registered nurses and all members of the profession
- making sure that a safety-critical profession can reach safe staffing levels and fill tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs
- recognising that the salaries of too many nursing professionals have not kept pace with increases to their living costs over the past decade
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