The Royal College of Nurses has dismissed the Government’s one-off payment offer as a “political quick fix”
Nurses will get round the negotiating table with the Welsh Government only after they make a “substantive and restorative pay offer”, says the Associate Director of RCN Wales.
Nicky Hughes says that whilst the Welsh Government had offered a sum of money to be shared between all the NHS workers in Wales, “there was no scoping as to how that would work.
“A one-off single payment really does nothing to bring pay up to the level it should be.
“We’re hearing all the time that our members are using food banks. They can’t afford to put fuel in their car to come to work. They can’t afford to feed their families, to cover the rent.”
Hughes said that the RCN is asking for a pay increase of the amount lost in real-terms due to inflation, plus 5%. However, she adds that the RCN would be open to accepting less than that under certain circumstances.
The RCN declined to comment on the total sum offered by the Government . Reports indicate that the amount offered was around £1,000 per NHS health worker.
A spokesperson for Welsh Government says that they will continue to call on the UK Government for more funding to allow the devolved Government to make a fair pay offer.
The RCN announced last week that nurses will be going on strike early next month, with walkouts planned for the 6th and 7th February.