..to ask what Mumsnetters think of the withholding of a 1% pay increase to NHS workers who are due an 'increment'

[Nuffieldnurseshome]

Unsurprisingly , yes I am an NHS worker, a nurse. I feel incredibly angry that after two years of a pay freeze, NHS workers, who are predominantly females, many of which in part time employment, will not be getting any pay rise again this year.

Are we immune to inflation? Has the value of what we do gone down?

The government has totally shafted us in my opinion, the 'increments' are part and parcel of our t&c and are there to reflect the skills and experience you gain over a defined period in the job. The other option is to pay everyone the 'fair' or 'going rate' from day one which in my opinion is more than just over £21k for the people who will be keeping you alive if you are unfortunate to require such care.

How is it fair that the get can ride roughshod over its own workers contracts, giving what amount to preferential rates to some of it staff but not others??????

And before anyone says well NHS workers needs to bear the brunt of austerity just the same as everyone else, yes, I agree but we still need a living wage, and I for one have list money in increase dense contributions ( even tho nurses pension pot is not and never has been in a deficit), loss of clothing allowance and loss of mileage allowance ( I now pay the NHS to use my own vehicle to visit clients!)

Honestly, what do we all think of this?

Ball

Please there is no need to throw personal insults at me. I have never and will never provide 'sub standard care' how dare you!!

But bottom line I have trained for three years, studied for a specialist degree and if the shit hits the fan it will be me in the coroners court!

Good luck with the pace, as others have said you will soon know what it is to give more than you have for less than you need!!!

Eh, what makes working I the community cushy??

Don't you get it's both of us who are losing out here!?

I don't know about elsewhere but this talk if automatic increments annoys me no end, if we cannot evidence progression then our boss cannot even consider allowing it, nothing about it is automatic.

Automatic increments? I wish.... never had them, always had to be evidence based. The problem for the last 5 years is that the evidence to get one requires me to walk on water whilst whistling Dixie and machine knitting a fully functioning Dalek

Rama well the only other option is to pay what the job is actually worth from the outset, ie get rid of increments ( which are a bit of a con anyway) and pay the 'going rate' which for most people is the tops of the banding.

Quite. The going rate for my job is well above the top of the scale. And I'm stuck not much above the bottom!

But I can't do my job in the private sector, it doesn't exist, though the profession does (hence being able to do the comparative).

ballinacup you might be in for a rude awakening. I have a friend who did a 1 year access course and then a 4 year education degree. In the last year she dropped the part of the course that would have given her qualified teacher status as the workload had her in tears everyday and she physically couldn't face being a teacher full-time after finishing her course. At least a third of her course didn't even want to be teachers by the end of the course because of the hours required of them, and all her colleague friends who have just qualified and are teachers are on the verge of nervous breakdowns. Just saying that your public sector awakening is about to get quite real.

My OH has had a 3% payrise minimum every year over the past 5 years. This year he's getting 9.5%. There are plenty of private sector companies not feeling the pinch.

I posted my thoughts www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2026087-AIBU-to-ask-if-you-would-support-a-strike-by-midwifery-nursing-staff

and www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2025317-To-think-that-a-pay-freeze-is-actually-a-pay-cut

It's terrible.

I work in the public sector in admin. I am extremely good at what I do and I am paid frankly a pittance. I would dearly love a more senior job but there are bugger all opportunities at present. Practically nothing has come up over the last few years because of the sheer number of 'at risk' staff being redeployed in to other jobs. I am at the top of my band and this is what I get for all my hard work. 1%. It's a joke.

Just because one sector has it shit doesn't mean we should be arguing for everyone else to have it as shit. I would argue that a lot of working conditions are fairly unique to the NHS and we should be compensated fairly for that but I get that there are also tough conditions in the private sector.

I think it's the 11% pay rise for MPs that's causing most upset. It's so hypocritical especially as they keep going on about "in it together". Add to that 11% of their wage is significantly more than 11% of 11% of thousands of frontline workers and I think it's pretty obvious why people are pissed off with them.

I think it's bullshit and I would support you striking. I would support a strong push to organise in the private sector and for them to strike too/more, actually.

Why are we so anxious to race each other to the bottom?

welcome to the real world, Nursey.

Yeah I'm pissed off about the MPs. I fully agree a load of private sector staff have had it really tough. It isn't a race to the bottom. I'm also aware a minority, but a highly paid minority or private sector staff in banking, etc are having big bonuses and pay rises again. After being bailed out by the taxpayer very recently in some cases.

MPs getting an 11% pay rise sickens me.

I will be starting a PGCE course in September because I'd rather see some financial bonus to working all of the hours god sends. The OP could jump ship just as easily.

Yes, good luck with that one!

pixie comments like that are ridiculous and make you sound so petty and childish. Do you think working 4 13 hour shifts per week often with no break, not enough staff or equipment and vulnerable clients isn't the real world compared with an office where to be completely honest if you fuck up no one dies. I know private sector work isn't all like that, and they have their own gripes and difficulties but please don't insult me by saying my public sector job is so cushy it cushions me from living in the real world because it doesn't. Not by a long shot.

pixiepotter
"welcome to the real world, Nursey."

Why post this?
What evidence do you have to back it up?
Why do you think that public sector works don't exist in this "real world" of yours?
Why do you think that public sector workers have it better?

This is only happening in parts of the UK - in Scotland we're getting our 1%.

I would be fucking furious if we didn't.