RCN’s Pat Cullen says it is ‘Deplorable’ that nurses in the UK are ‘Lowest Paid in Europe’

Union President Pat CullenShe believes it is “despicable”, that nurses in the UK are among the lowest paid in Europe.

Secretary General Royal College of Nursing [RCN]They said they weren’t “greedy people” but just wanted to “make ends meets”.

Comments made before First nurses strike next weekOn Thursday 15th and Tuesday 20th of December respectively.

Colin spoke to BBC Sunday with Laura Kuinsberg“The workday nurses will take hasn’t created the 7.2 million people on our waiting list, the NHS is in crisis for many decades… what would be it like if these nurses weren’t working those extra paid hours that they do?

Nurses don’t want to be greedy. They are not asking for a massive pay raise, they are just asking to be able to make ends meet.”

The RCN offered a “press stop” on the planned strike to the Minister of Health Steve BarclayYou agree to negotiate the fee.

Barclay’s “door is open for further conversations,” however, the Department of Health didn’t say if wages would be considered.

Barclay, in an editorial published Sunday by the Sun newspaper, criticized the planned strikes amidst intense pressure on NHS.

The strike will cause major disruption to the NHS during the Christmas period, with ambulance workers due to strike on the 21st of December.

The RCN said that despite this year’s wage award of £1,400, experienced nurses are 20 per cent worse off in real terms due to successive under-inflationary awards since 2010.

The union demanded a wage increase of 5 % above the RPI inflation rate.

Responding to the latest offer from the unions, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “These are very challenging times, we have accepted the recommendations of the fully independent NHS Pay Review Body – this means newly qualified nurses receiving a 5.5 per cent increase and those on lower salaries, such as Porters and cleaners, they got a wage increase of up to 9.3 percent.”