P-05-1052 Give Nurses a pay rise in line with other frontline staff during COVID-19 pandemic

P-05-1052 Give Nurses a pay rise in line with other frontline staff during COVID-19 pandemic

This petition was submitted by Ffion Rees having collected a total of 2,078 signatures.

Text of Petition:                     

The Welsh Government has announced it would be awarding doctors and dentists a 2.8% pay rise, staying that the pay rise ‘reflects the commitment of the people who make sure our NHS is there for you’

Despite this, nursing staff, many of whom contracted the virus while working, were not included in the pay rise.

As a newly qualified mental health nurse, I am asking the Senedd to reconsider this decision and reflect the dedication of nursing staff by giving them the pay rise they deserve.

Additional Information:

Defence of nursing staff not being included in this pay rise is that we are receiving a 6.2% pay rise over 3 years, a pay rise that we would have received anyway and not in recognition of our hard work during these difficult times.

Two thirds of nurses who contracted Covid-19 are still experiencing the after effects of the virus while continuing to carry out their duty as a nurse (Nursing Times, 2020).

At the time of this petition, over 200 NHS staff, including nurses have died from coronavirus in the UK (The Guardian, 2020). This shows the ultimate sacrifice that nursing staff are willing to make to care for our patients, and yet they are not being given a pay rise along with their hard working colleagues.

In the last data analysis conducted by the UK Government in April 2020 of coronavirus infection rates, 16.2% of those infected were key workers who include nursing staff, accounting for nearly a fifth of confirmed cases (CEBM, 2020).

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 02/03/2021.

The Committee considered the correspondence received, the further response from the Minister and his commitment that the Welsh Government will keep all options open for when the recommendations of the independent pay review are made. However, given the fact that this is not expected until May 2021 and the timescales are set by UK Government, there is little further action that the Committee could take at this time. Therefore, Members reiterated their support and agreed to close the petitions and thank the petitioners.

Full details of the consideration of this petitions by the committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.

It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 12/01/2021.

Senedd Constituency and Region

• Llanelli
• Mid and West Wales

Further information

• The Petitions Committee homepage
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