Responding to comments from Transport Secretary Mark Harper that public sector pay rises in line with inflation are “unaffordable”, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:
“While billions of pounds is being spent on temporary measures like agency staff to stick a plaster on the NHS workforce crisis, we are told a pay rise for nursing staff is unaffordable.
“With 47,000 nurse vacancies in England’s NHS alone, a pay rise for nurses isn’t just about fair pay – it’s about retaining and recruiting enough nurses to safely care for patients.
“Strike action is always a last resort but for too long we have been ignored. Nursing staff won’t stand by while their patients are put in harm’s way – they are doing this for themselves and for their patients."
Ends
