NURSES will ramp up their campaign for fair pay from today by billing NHS bosses for their actual hours — which are often far longer than what they get paid for.

The Royal College of Nursing opened the new front in its battle for decent terms to highlight the more than five weeks’ worth of free labour they put in on average each year.

RCN general secretary Dr Peter Carter said: “Anyone who has had contact with a member of the nursing profession over recent years will know just how long their working day is and how hard they work.

“The government regularly says how much it values NHS staff, but the failure to pay them for the extra work they do sends out a very different message.”

Research by analyst group Incomes Data Services found that on average nurses work four unpaid extra hours each week.