RCN members working in Northern Ireland will take to picket lines alongside other trade unions on 18 January, in a dispute over pay parity with nursing staff in England.
Over the past 9 months, RCN members in Northern Ireland employed under Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions have waited for the implementation of the 2023-2024 AfC pay offer.
However, with no functioning Assembly and Executive in Northern Ireland, and inaction from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the pay offer has not been given to nursing staff, and they have fallen behind colleagues in England.
Last month it was widely reported that the financial package negotiated between the Secretary of State and the five main political parties included an allocation to facilitate a pay offer. The RCN Northern Ireland Board met to discuss this development and has come to the conclusion that our members’ patience has now been exhausted, particularly since the money is available to make this pay offer.
‘It has been four years since nurses in Northern Ireland first took strike action to ensure pay parity with colleagues in England and Wales. It is nothing short of immoral that we have been put in this position once again and are the lowest paid nursing staff in the UK. What an indictment on how we treat health care workers and the value we place on them,’ said Director of the RCN in Northern Ireland, Rita Devlin.
‘Just this week our emergency departments, once again, have been struggling to cope with the numbers of very sick patients who need treatment. And who are we depending upon to meet that challenge?’ she asked.