01/08/2025
SDLP Calls For Urgent Action On Nurses' Pay
The SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson, Colin McGrath MLA, has said the Executive is risking strike action by failing to act on nurses' pay.
This follows the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) entering a trade dispute with the Executive over its failure to implement the agreed 3.6% inflationary pay rise.
Speaking after meeting with the RCN on Thursday, South Down MLA Mr McGrath said: "To find ourselves once again in a position where nurses are denied their rightful pay increase is nothing short of a disgrace. This 3.6% rise was agreed to help offset the cost of living, yet the Executive has failed to deliver it. The level of disrespect shown to our nurses should shame every party around that Executive table."
Mr McGrath highlighted that nurses in Northern Ireland are once again out of parity with their colleagues across the UK. He stated that he had assured the RCN of the SDLP's full support, noting that his party has repeatedly warned the Executive of the consequences of inaction.
He added: "We called for Barnett funding to be ring-fenced for health, we urged proactive measures to secure pay awards, but time and again, this Executive has simply expected nurses to do more with less."
Mr McGrath questioned the Executive's commitment, noting that the RCN had written to the leading parties in June to warn them of the dispute but had received neither an acknowledgement nor a response.
He concluded: "This must be resolved urgently, nurses should not have to fight or consider industrial action year after year to receive the modest pay increase they were promised. Every day the Executive withholds nurses' hard-earned pay, anger and frustration grows and the risk of strike action becomes ever more real."
This follows the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) entering a trade dispute with the Executive over its failure to implement the agreed 3.6% inflationary pay rise.
Speaking after meeting with the RCN on Thursday, South Down MLA Mr McGrath said: "To find ourselves once again in a position where nurses are denied their rightful pay increase is nothing short of a disgrace. This 3.6% rise was agreed to help offset the cost of living, yet the Executive has failed to deliver it. The level of disrespect shown to our nurses should shame every party around that Executive table."
Mr McGrath highlighted that nurses in Northern Ireland are once again out of parity with their colleagues across the UK. He stated that he had assured the RCN of the SDLP's full support, noting that his party has repeatedly warned the Executive of the consequences of inaction.
He added: "We called for Barnett funding to be ring-fenced for health, we urged proactive measures to secure pay awards, but time and again, this Executive has simply expected nurses to do more with less."
Mr McGrath questioned the Executive's commitment, noting that the RCN had written to the leading parties in June to warn them of the dispute but had received neither an acknowledgement nor a response.
He concluded: "This must be resolved urgently, nurses should not have to fight or consider industrial action year after year to receive the modest pay increase they were promised. Every day the Executive withholds nurses' hard-earned pay, anger and frustration grows and the risk of strike action becomes ever more real."
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.