The government has proposed a 5% pay rise for UK nurses in a bid to end ongoing pay disputes.
While the RCN, Unison and the GMB support the deal, a Twitter poll led by the Nursing Standard suggests nurses are overall disappointed with the news.
Of the 2,750 respondents, an astounding 89% agreed that the pay offer was not satisfactory.
This opinion was also reinforced on Instagram, where some 1,800 voted in a poll. Again, the majority (89%) said the proposed deal was not enough.
Ambulance workers, physiotherapists, midwives and support staff are also to be included in the 5% increase.
Unite highlighted that the government's offer “falls short of what we were asking for”. As a result, the official body will not be pushing its members to accept.
Unite official Onay Kasab told BBC News that nurses "wanted a consolidated payment... they did not want one-off non-consolidated sums".
He also commented that the offer will fall short when it comes to helping with recruitment in the NHS because “only current staff members will get it.”
Here at MCM Medical, we are happy to see the government actively responding to calls for better pay. However, we hope that nurses end up with a pay deal that matches inflation and meets their needs.
Want to start a career in nursing? Drop us an email at info@mcmmedical.co.uk to learn more about our current vacancies.
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