Nursing leaders in Wales call for 12.5% ‘fair pay’ increase
LEADING Welsh nurses are calling for a 12.5% pay rise to reflect the growing complexity of their skills and workload.
Helen Whyley, director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Wales, said the pay boost would also help entice more people to work in the profession.
She described the 1% rise being advocated across the border in England as “pitiful and bitterly disappointing” and urged the Welsh Government to give a “firm commitment” on fair pay.
“Nursing staff have stepped up to care for the people of Wales like never before during this pandemic, but the truth is that they were managing intense pressures long before the arrival of Covid-19,” she said.
“Over the last year those pressures have reached breaking point. Since last March too many have made the ultimate professional sacrifice – losing their lives.
“More registered nurses are needed in Wales, reflected by the significant number of vacancies. But nursing staff are overstretched and severely underpaid because their pay has not kept pace with inflation and living costs to the point that they are worse off today than they were 10 years ago.
“With many households placed under serious financial strain, some nursing staff now need to use foodbanks. Nurses need a pay rise. They deserve to be appropriately rewarded for their skills and expertise with pay that reflects the importance of their complex work. The next Welsh Government must get serious about valuing and supporting the profession in the short and long term.
“Without a significant and substantive pay rise, experienced nurses will continue to leave and the profession will be less attractive to the next generation.”
The RCN’s Fair Pay for Nursing campaign aims to secure a fully-funded 12.5% pay increase for all NHS nursing staff across the UK.
“Our campaign is about recognising and promoting the complexity of skills, responsibilities, and expertise demonstrated every day by nurses and healthcare support workers. It is about ensuring that our profession can achieve safe staffing levels by the vacant nursing jobs,” added Ms Whyley.
“We engaged extensively with our members before arriving at the figure of 12.5%, asking key questions about pay expectations and what nurses want for the future of their profession.
“We asked the public as well and weren’t surprised to find overwhelming public support for a nursing pay rise.”
Pay is usually decided through the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) which makes recommendations to governments in the UK after taking evidence from trade unions, employers and governments. But ultimately NHS pay is a political decision.
Ms Whyley added: “Earlier in March it was announced that a 1% rise is being advocated in England because that was all the Government could afford. This is pitiful and bitterly disappointing. The UK Government is dangerously out of touch with nursing staff, NHS workers and the public.”
On March 17 the Welsh Government announced that NHS and social care staff will receive a one-off bonus for their work during the pandemic. Most people will receive £500 after tax and national insurance deductions.
“This is not the significant and substantive pay rise we have been calling for. We need the Welsh Government to give a firm commitment to fair pay for nursing, addressing over 1,600 vacancies in Wales, encouraging nurses to stay in the profession, and ensuring excellent patient care,” said Ms Whyley.
“Government responses across all nations will give a real indication of how much they value nurses in the NHS and in the independent sector. After years of inadequate support for the largest health and care workforce in the UK, governments have the chance to make the right choice.”
Health minister Vaughan Gething said last month that the Welsh Government had “not tried to set a ceiling” on any proposed wage increase. “We’re waiting to see the outcome of the pay review body and we expect to publish the evidence we’ve provided to that pay review body in the very near future,” he said.