You've clapped, now support our call for a fair pay rise - nursing union

During lockdown earlier this year communities took part in clapping for key workers.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the UK’s largest professional nursing union, says nurses’ wages have fallen by 12.6 per cent in real terms over the past decade due to the Government capping or freezing their pay.

The college says many nurses are feeling undervalued and thinking of leaving the profession at a time when health and social care services can ill afford the serious shortage of staff to worsen and put the quality and safety of patient care at greater risk.

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According to the latest figures across the Midlands there are more than 8,000 vacancies for registered nurses in NHS provider trusts – around one in every nine posts.

The union is seeking a fully-funded 12.5 per cent pay rise for nursing staff and wants the public to tell MPs why Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak should commit to the increase when he sets out the Government’s spending plans for the next year on 25 November.

By visiting the RCN website – rcn.org.uk - members of the public can customise and send a message by email to their MP, asking them to back a fair pay claim for nursing staff.

Chair of the RCN’s West Midlands Board, mental health nurse Mark Butler said: “As nurses and health care workers, we were delighted and humbled by the appreciation shown towards us by the Shropshire public in their thousands during the Thursday night clap.

“This is an opportunity for them to express that powerful sentiment again but this time by taking a few moments to send a resounding message to their MP that nursing staff deserve nothing less than a decent pay rise.”

The Government’s one-year spending review will prioritise the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in which nursing staff continue to play a vital role.