The government have confirmed this week that all public sector workers, including Nurses, are only going to receive a 1% pay rise in April 2016.
The Health Minister, Jeremy Hunt, has come under fire after news that public-sector workers were, once again, only being offered a 1% pay increase. This announcement comes only a few weeks after MPs awarded themselves a 10% pay rise after claiming that “we are all in this together”.
Healthcare staff have now seen 8 years without a significant pay increase and it has been calculated that these rises have not kept above the increased cost of living.
A newly qualified Band 5 Staff Nurse is paid £11.12 per hour and with the national minimum wage set to increase to £9 by 2020 it is a gap that is ever-closing. The 1% pay increase will mean most nurses will only receive a monthly pay increase of £5.38 per week or 14p per hour (band 5 Nurses at the top of their band).
The RCN and GMC have both seen increases in the amount of staff withdrawing or wishing to transfer their registration abroad.
Nurses are calling for action from unions with many members saying this is the time for industrial action.