‘Go back to negotiating table for nurses pay deal’ – Adam Price call to Welsh Govt

The Welsh Government should go “back to the negotiating table” to secure an improved pay offer for NHS nurses in Wales, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has said.

Earlier this month, the Royal College of Nursing confirmed that nursing staff at the majority of NHS employers in Wales voted to take strike action over pay levels and patient safety concerns.

RCN Wales remains in a pay dispute with Welsh Government since October 2021 over its 3% pay award for NHS Wales nursing staff.

The Royal College of Nurses has paused formal announcement of strike action in Scotland after the Scottish Government has reopened pay negotiations. 

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said that the Welsh Government should follow suit and use all the powers they have to secure an improved pay offer for NHS nurses in Wales.

Mr Price reiterated that his party stood “with nurses and all public sector workers in their call for fair play and fairer pay”. 

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said: “Nurses are the backbone of our NHS, but they have been driven to desperation due to poor pay and woeful working conditions.

“Those same nurses who protected us during the pandemic are now using foodbanks and crying after their shifts because of the pressure they are under and the sense that they’re under-valued.

“Plaid Cymru stands with nurses and all public sector workers in their call for fair play and fairer pay. We believe that those who care for us should be cared for in return.

“That’s why we’re telling the Welsh Government to go back to the negotiating table – just as the Scottish Government have done – and use all the powers that you have to secure an improved pay offer for NHS nurses in Wales.”

‘Dog-whistle politics’

The Plaid Cymru Leader also criticised UK Labour Leader Keir Starmer for “dog-whistle politics” on the topic of immigration.

The UK Labour Leader today said that he wanted to wean the UK off its “immigration dependency” during a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference in Birmingham.

He had previously said that the UK was recruiting too many people from overseas into the NHS.

Adam Price added: “Meanwhile, UK Labour Leader Keir Starmer is saying he wants the NHS to rely less on overseas doctors and nurses in a disturbing show of inflammatory dog-whistle politics.

“The real dependency in the NHS is that on agency staff spend which rose to £133.4 million pounds last year, which is effectively privatisation by the back door.

“Setting a ceiling on agency staff spend this winter would give the Welsh Government another means of giving NHS staff, wherever they are from, the decent pay rise they deserve.”