Nursing union sets up £35m strike fund to fight the Government over 1% pay-rise
The ROYAL College of Nursing has announced a £35m industrial action fund in response to the government's recommendation of a one percent pay-rise for NHS workers.
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The pay increase was revealed in the Budget earlier this week when Rishi Sunak announced spending an extra £65bn on Covid support measures. But many health care workers claim the proposal would see them take home as little as £3.50 extra a week.
The industrial action fund has been set up by the Royal College of Nursing to provide compensation for members should they resort to strike action.
The Royal College of Nursing has been campaigning for a 12.5 percent pay rise in recognition of the hard work and effort of staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
This morning on BBC Breakfast Health Minister Nadine Dorries said she was “pleasantly surprised” by the one percent pay rise for NHS staff in England.
But Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, a British nurse, and Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said it was “pitiful and bitterly disappointing.”
She also said government were “dangerously out of touch with nursing staff, NHS workers and the public” on the pay increase issue.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the government’s proposal was a “real insult”.
“The prime minister tries to take credit for the vaccine rollout whilst cutting the pay of those who are actually delivering it – it’s insulting.”
He added: “If I was prime minister I would be recognising and rewarding those on the front line in the NHS by giving them a pay rise.”
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Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has said a pay increase of just one percent was “the ultimate kick in teeth to our NHS heroes” during the pandemic.
She added: “I was a nurse myself ... I became a nurse because I loved nursing. I hope that those nurses who love their jobs too will stay in the NHS and stick with us through what is a difficult time.”
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