"Prime Minister claps don’t pay the bills and neither does a 72 pence pay rise"
Labour MP Ian Lavery tore into Liz Truss at PMQs today, as he slammed the government for portraying nurses as ‘militants’ for demanding a pay rise during a cost of living crisis.
Lavery told the prime minister: “How quickly our nurses have gone from the country’s heroes to this government’s villains, offered a derisory 72 pence a week pay rise and then painted as militants for daring to have the audacity to ballot for industrial action, for the first time in a century.
“Prime Minister claps don’t pay the bills and neither does a 72 pence pay rise. Nurses are leaving the NHS in their droves, feeling abandoned by this Government. Surely even the Prime Minister agrees the Government has its priorities wrong.”
Lavery went on to highlight how the government has lifted the cap on bankers’ bonuses while at the same time, while offering derisory pay rises to NHS staff.
It comes after Health Secretary Therese Coffey said nurses will not get a higher pay offer, as they vote on strike action for the first time in decades.
The Royal College of Nursing says the government’s offer of a 3% wage rise “makes a difference to a nurse’s wage of 72p a week”.
It is asking for nurses to be given a pay rise in line with the rate of inflation, which is currently 10.1%.
Correction: 13/10/2022: Since the publication of the article, it’s become clear that Lavery based his calculations of 72p per week on comments made by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen last week. The RCN has since stated that Ms Cullen misspoke. Calculations from UNISON actually suggest the pay offer increases wages by 72p per hour, not 72p per week.
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