Nurses’ pay is £8,000 lower than if wages had kept pace with inflation since 2010, new research has revealed.
The analysis from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) showed that nurses’ pay has been “severely eroded” over the past years, especially for junior staff.
The report was published as tens of thousands of nursing staff vote in the RCN’s pay award consultation, and days after resident doctors announced strike action later this month.
The RCN said addressing “collapsing” wages for those at the start of their careers must be a priority for the government to boost recruitment and deliver its 10-Year Health Plan.
Executive director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said nursing staff are “tired of playing constant financial catch-up, often struggling to pay rent or get on the housing ladder”.
“Nursing is an incredible profession, but we are weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scales and received one of the lowest awards this year, a situation which is deepening the workforce crisis and impacting patient care. Attracting and keeping talented people should be the government’s priority, but that requires them to do better on nursing pay.
“Our members are voting in their tens of thousands and making their voices heard on this pay award.
“Ministers must realise that the only sensible choice left to them is to negotiate directly with the largest health care workforce.
“It is time to deliver both better pay and pay modernisation for nursing staff.”
The BMA announced last week that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – in England would walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on July 25 amid a pay dispute with the government.
The BMA said the discussions will begin negotiations on how this month’s strike can be prevented.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said: “The BMA have accepted the Health Secretary’s offer to meet and we expect that to happen this week.”
Mr Streeting is reportedly sympathetic to improving working conditions for doctors, but will not budge on salaries.
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