Following the announcement of an NHS pay offer for Agenda for Change staff in England, Rita Devlin, Director of the RCN in Northern Ireland has responded saying:
“News of a pay offer in England will leave nursing staff in Northern Ireland wondering exactly where they stand in relation to a pay offer here. We will be requesting a meeting with the Department of Health at the earliest opportunity to clarify if this offer, in the absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, can be applied here also.
“Last year RCN members in Northern Ireland voted alongside colleagues in England and Wales to take strike action over pay. It will be completely unacceptable to our members if they are not offered the same pay award as nursing staff working in England. Falling out of pay parity was exactly why our members first took strike action in 2019 and they will not be prepared to accept this again.
“We would urge the Secretary of State to support nursing staff in Northern Ireland to receive a pay offer and to learn from the mistakes of the past.”
