Nurses to continue push for equity within public sector
NURSES in Guernsey will continue to press for fairer treatment, according to the local convener of the Royal College of Nursing.
Kenny Lloyd said pressing for greater equity was not just about pay percentages but also a question of improving terms and conditions for nursing staff.
The States Accounts for 2020 revealed that the number of ‘nurses and medical consultants’ whose total cost of employment was above £80,000 had gone up from 62 in 2019 to 119 in just a year – an increase of 57. This does not necessarily mean that their pay rose above that level, as the figure includes pension, social security and other costs.
The publication of the 97-page States Accounts report was accompanied on Tuesday by a one-page summary, for the media, which gave some details of the increase, citing ‘the 2019 and 2020 pay awards for “Agenda for Change” staff’ as the chief contributory factor.
The States has since provided a further breakdown of the figures, which show that 56 of the employees whose costs rose above £80,000 were nurses, and just one was a medical consultant.
Mr Lloyd said the RCN, which represents a majority of nurses in Guernsey, had resumed discussions with the States since the award of 5% rises from January and September of 2019, which he described as having been imposed on nurses, as it was offered outside of previous negotiations.
‘Our position hasn’t changed,’ he said.
‘We are seeking equity with equivalent roles elsewhere in the civil service. We want equal pay for work of equal value.’
Nurses continued to be paid significantly less than other public employees with similarly complex training and the same degrees of responsibility, he said, and the disparity continues into retirement through pensions.
Concerning future pay negotiations, a Policy & Resources spokesman said: ‘Representatives of the Policy & Resources Committee and HR have met on various occasions with the Agenda for Change Group and have advised them that the committee will not be in a position to begin to discuss pay until after the Assembly has met in July, in the special meeting of the States, to debate the Government Work Plan. This position applies to all the pay groups.’
