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Pay rise for nurses gets go-ahead Pay rise for nurses gets go-ahead
(about 4 hours later)
Nurses in Northern Ireland are to receive the full pay award recommended by the Independent Pay Review Body. Nurses in England deserve to be paid the same as their Northern Ireland counterparts, their union has said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said nurses would 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. Peter Carter, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said the situation was unjust.
"Nurses in England will still be left out in the cold because they continue to be offered a lower pay deal than their Celtic cousins," he said.
"A nurse giving care and saving lives in London should be as valued as a nurse in Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh.
"But, when it comes to nurses' pay, we have a Disunited Kingdom in which nurses working in England find themselves discriminated against."
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Mr 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".
Investment
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.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."
A Department of Health spokesman said decisions on implementation of pay were a devolved matter, and the Northern Ireland Assembly had decided on a course of action reflecting their own regional issues.A Department of Health spokesman said decisions on implementation of pay were a devolved matter, and the Northern Ireland Assembly had decided on a course of action reflecting their own regional issues.
"The government has already announced the pay award for health professionals in England - a fair award reflecting the balance between the right level of pay and the need to be vigilant against the threats of inflation.""The government has already announced the pay award for health professionals in England - a fair award reflecting the balance between the right level of pay and the need to be vigilant against the threats of inflation."