well, the government s being honest, because the government says, look, we have accepted the findings of the independent pay review body. we are going to pay what they recommend we should pay to nurses in full. we can t go further than that, but that s what we re prepared to do. is your position very different from that? well, labour s being honest, too, that the headline demand of the royal college of nursing, inflation plus 5%, is not a figure that we could afford if we were in government today. yes, to be clear, that would amount to something between 17% and 19% for nurses. indeed. but we would be willing to talk about pay. not least because i m particularly concerned about those people on the lower pay bands in the nhs, particularly nursing colleagues, but also wider allied health professionals and auxiliary staff. i m also worried about the pay ofjunior doctors, people starting out in their careers, and i think we should talk about those issues and see if there s a negotiation tha
would conclude. butjust on that test of. you can t criticise the government and be a credible opposition, unless you re prepared to be substantive in the way you differ from the government. sure. but on the test of credibility, i would not credibly be going into a negotiation, saying, and here s where i would settle. who on earth does that in a negotiation? i ve tried to be as straightforward as i can from opposition that we wouldn t be settling on inflation plus 5%, because we don t think it s affordable, but we would be willing to negotiate. and i think that s a fair position. it s a position that would have stopped strikes this week. and so the fact that they re going ahead, i think, rests with the government. and what s more, the government says we re following the advice of the independent pay body, but the government sets the size of the envelope, and the government sets the terms of the pay body. and at the moment, it doesn tjust apply to the nurses strike, it applies to such a
would ever come to this. i am not somebody that feels that this is what i am supposed to be doing. you know, myjob is in there. you re six weeks into this career. yes. you look like you are about to cry when you talk about how you are struggling. do you think you are going to stay in this job? not for much. well, i m going to stick it out because i am a fighter. but i have already thought in three years time can i see myself still here? probably not, no. the main reason is pay. starting salaries for nurses in england arejust over £27,000. that can go up to almost 55,000 for the most senior nurses. but the rcn says the average for an established nurse is closer to 32,000. that is similar to average pay across the country. horns toot. there is quite a gulf between what they want on this picket line, a pay rise of inflation plus 5% which works out at 19%.
there is quite a gulf between what they want on this picket line, a pay rise of inflation plus 5% which works out at i9%. and what ministers over in parliament think is fair. because if we are to afford a i9% pay rise, we can only do that either through borrowing which we saw the effects of government borrowing onlyjust a few weeks ago on the economy. either through taxation, and i don t think that s appropriate when people are struggling with the cost of living this winter. or taking that money from front line services. it is too early to tell yet quite how much disruption this will cause. but we know patients have had operations and appointments cancelled. the rcn has this message for them. i am truly, truly sorry for you sitting on waiting lists year on year. and i m very sorry if your treatment has been cancelled today. but it is up to the employers to make sure that your treatment is rearranged as quickly as possible. nurses from some areas of medicine are not able to come
that is similar to average pay across the country. horns toot. there is quite a gulf between what they want on this picket line, a pay rise of inflation plus 5% which works out at 19%. and what ministers over in parliament think is fair. because if we are to afford a 19% pay rise, we can only do that either through borrowing which we saw the effects of government borrowing onlyjust a few weeks ago on the economy. either through taxation, and i don t think that s appropriate when people are struggling with the cost of living this winter. or taking that money from front line services. it is too early to tell yet quite how much disruption this will cause. but we know patients have had operations and appointments cancelled. the rcn has this message for them. i am truly, truly sorry for you sitting on waiting lists year on year. and i m very sorry if your treatment