New data showing the widening gulf between private and public-sector pay is yet more evidence of why ministers are wrong to turn their backs on nursing, the RCN says today.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics today shows public-sector pay is lagging far behind that of the private sector, with average public sector pay growing by just 2.7% between August to October 2022 compared to 6.9% in the private sector.
The difference in growth rates is among the largest ever recorded and follows a much longer-term trend. It also comes after more than a decade of pay cuts for nursing – the value of salaries for experienced nurses has fallen by 20% in real terms since 2010.
Last night, ahead of planned strikes on Thursday and next week, health secretary Steve Barclay effectively “closed the door” on attempts to stop those strikes by refusing to discuss pay.
The Royal College of Nursing says the ONS data is yet more evidence why nursing staff desperately need a pay rise, with low pay pushing nursing staff out of the profession, creating tens of thousands of vacancies and making care unsafe.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen, said:
“This is yet more compelling evidence of why ministers are wrong to turn their backs on nursing.
“With public sector salaries lagging so far behind those in the private sector it’s unsurprising that nurses can’t make ends meet. And that’s on top of a decade of real-terms pay cuts.
“Last night, when I met the health secretary, he once again rebuffed our calls to negotiate and to give nursing staff the pay rise they need to live – and to boost recruitment and retention. The workforce crisis has made care unsafe.
“In just two days, nurses will take to picket lines to fight for their profession and their patients. The government has the power and means to prevent this action at any point.”
In October, the RCN revealed new analysis by London Economics which showed pay for nurses has declined at twice the rate of the private sector in the last decade. Nurses’ real terms earnings have fallen by 6% compared to 3.2% for private sector employees.
The Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation (measured by RPI).
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