This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6286408.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Pay rise for nurses gets go-ahead | Pay rise for nurses gets go-ahead |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Nurses in Northern Ireland are to receive the full pay award recommended by the Independent Pay Review Body. | Nurses in Northern Ireland are to receive the full pay award recommended by the Independent Pay Review Body. |
| The move means that nurses and midwives will receive a 2.5% increase back-dated from 1 April. | The move means that nurses and midwives will receive a 2.5% increase back-dated from 1 April. |
| Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said all key workers in "the wider health service team" would get the increase. | Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said all key workers in "the wider health service team" would get the increase. |
| The decision means that the only nurses in the UK who will not receive their full pay from April are those working in England. | The decision means that the only nurses in the UK who will not receive their full pay from April are those working in England. |
| They are getting 1.5% now and an extra 1% in the autumn. | They are getting 1.5% now and an extra 1% in the autumn. |
| Mr McGimpsey said he was on record as saying he believed that nurses "deserved to have their pay in full". | Mr McGimpsey said he was on record as saying he believed that nurses "deserved to have their pay in full". |
| The minister said the pay rise would also be awarded to administrative and clerical staff "as well as other support services". | The minister said the pay rise would also be awarded to administrative and clerical staff "as well as other support services". |
| Mary Hines, Northern Ireland director of the Royal College of Nursing, said it was not just an investment in nurses, but also in patient care. | |
| "The health minister has been very supportive, one has to say that Finance Minister Peter Robinson,who has to make difficult decisions, and the executive have been wonderful," she said. | "The health minister has been very supportive, one has to say that Finance Minister Peter Robinson,who has to make difficult decisions, and the executive have been wonderful," she said. |
| "They have listened to the voice of nursing and nurses in Northern Ireland." | "They have listened to the voice of nursing and nurses in Northern Ireland." |
| Anger in England | |
| Mike Jackson, deputy head of health at Unison, welcomed the Northern Ireland decision. | |
| But he said: "It's time now for the UK Government to accept they got this wrong and lift the staging for English health workers and allow negotiations to conclude with a fair pay deal for all NHS staff." | |
| His words were echoed by Dame Karlene Davis, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM). | |
| She said: "Midwives in England will be looking at this announcement and wondering what they have done to upset Gordon Brown and to be treated so badly. | |
| "The government's attitude is Scrooge-like and it is shameful that they are happy to sit back and let midwives in England work for less money than their colleagues in the other countries." |