Peter Lazenby
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BRITAIN has become the “sick man of Europe” in its treatment of the nurses providing the country’s front-line healthcare, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said today.
New data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that this country’s nurses lag far behind their European counterparts when it comes to pay.
The union cited the report as conclusive proof that the British government values nurses less than other countries and called on Health Secretary Steve Barclay to respond by reopening negotiations.
Next Thursday, 100,000 RCN members in England, Wales and the north of Ireland will strike for the first time in the union’s 106-year history.
The RCN says that while the wages of equivalent European nurses have kept pace with inflation over the last decade, the pay of nurses in England, Wales and Scotland has fallen in value by 20 per cent and in the north of Ireland by 16 per cent.
The union is seeking a pay rise equal to the rate of inflation plus 5 per cent.
General secretary Pat Cullen said the nurses’ case “has been demonstrated on the world stage with immense strength” by the OECD report.
She has written to Mr Barclay telling him: “As Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, I must ask you how you will respond to the categorical evidence that the United Kingdom values nurses less than others.
"It is deeply regrettable that we, as the UK, find ourselves as the sick man of Europe once again.
“With the facts laid out bare by the OECD, you may now feel clearer on why my members across the four countries have voted so decisively for strike and why the remedial action on the part of governments must be as significant as it is urgent.
“As I have made clear on multiple occasions, you have the option to avert strike action by opening formal negotiations about the current pay award.”
The NHS has 47,000 nursing vacancies and the RCN says billions of pounds are being spent on agency staff to plug the gaps, arguing that the money could be used to pay directly employed nurses.
The Department for Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.
