Mark and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman, Martin Tod, met with staff at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital on Friday to discuss the recent pay award. From April nurses will get a 1.5 per cent rise, then in November an additional 1 per cent. This makes an annual increase of 1.9 per cent. For a nurse the national starting salary is £19,166, this would give them with an extra £335 a year – less than £1 per day.
Mark said:
“It is insulting to give nurses just a £1 per day increase. They hold our health service together and in Winchester, because of other cuts, we could not manage without them. I simply do not understand why Gordon Brown has picked on this group in this way.”
Martin Tod said:
“Many health workers are going to see their wages cut by Gordon Brown. The combination of the delayed pay increase and Gordon Brown’s disgraceful doubling of the 10p rate of income tax is going to mean that many essential health care workers are not going to see any increase at all. The combination of Gordon Brown’s miserly pay increase and Gordon Brown’s tax increase is going to make many people worse off.”
Mark Oaten