COVID-19
A massive 77% of the public support a pay rise for nurses.
Tomorrow MPs will debate a set of petitions upon the government to increase pay for NHS workers and recognise them for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One petition titled ‘Increase pay for NHS healthcare workers and recognise their work’ received more than 160,000 signatures meaning it is above the threshold required for debate by Parliament.
A previous response by the government admits that while “NHS staff are our greatest asset” pay award recommendations are made by The NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) rather than MPs.
According to a recent YouGov survey, a massive 77% of the public support a pay rise for nurses.
Three other petitions will also be debated including one that calls for the controversial immigration health surcharge to be scrapped for health workers and another that would grant citizenship to non-British health and social care workers who assisted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The debate will be the first petition in front of a parliamentary committee since March due to COVID-19.
Grass-roots activist group Nurses United UK is calling for a 10% pay rise for all health and social care staff, bringing for the first time in over ten years an over-inflation rise.
Ahead of the debate, Nurses United UK is encouraging healthcare workers to write to their MP urging them to attend tomorrow’s session.
Anthony Johnson, a Registered Nurse and Lead Organiser said; “We can all see how important our frontline nurses have been and how much the public really cares for our carers. For too long though the politicians in Westminster have thought they could get by using and abusing the goodwill of NHS staff.
“Nurses United are here to say no more and to be the place where we get things done!”
You’ll be able to watch online on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.
