Nurses across South to hold silent protests over pay deal
There calls for a bigger increase than the 3% controversially awarded for NHS staff earlier this year
Silent protests are set to be held in Dorset and Hampshire over the pay deal for nurses.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said there is growing anger over the “failure“ of ministers to listen to calls for a bigger increase than the 3% controversially awarded for NHS staff earlier this year.
Unions representing health workers have been campaigning for a much larger rise, especially after the way staff have responded to the pandemic.
A series of protests are being held across the country today (8th September) which will see nurses bow their heads and stand in silence in response to the pay deal imposed on them by the Government.
In Dorset, an event is being held at the top deck of Poole Quay between 9am and 10am, while demonstrations are being held in Hampshire at Southampton General Hospital between 11am and 3pm and at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham between 9.30am and 11am.
Nurses will be protesting in a respectful way, in direct contrast to how they have been treated by the Government, said the RCN.
Its members working in the NHS in England and Wales are voting on whether they find the 3% pay award acceptable, with the result due later this month.
The RCN said the latest figures from NHS England show the number of nursing vacancies has risen to nearly 40,000, an increase of more than 4,000 in just one month.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “The voice of nursing has been ignored for such a long time and many in the profession are now lost for words at how ministers are treating them.
“They were sent to fight the pandemic without adequate protection and now they have a pay deal that even the Government admits leaves them worse off.
“Politicians who see our members standing vigil today should realise it’s not too late to change their minds – but they have to be willing to start the conversation.”
The RCN is campaigning for a fully-funded 12.5% pay increase for all nursing staff, which recognises the complex mix of skills, responsibility and experience demonstrated every day by members of the profession.