“Nurses Unfairly Paid While MLAs Take Wage Despite Not Working” –Cllr Mullen
Aontú Cllr Denise Mullen has demanded further investment in the Health services to improve conditions amidst the Nurses strike.
Speaking today, Cllr Mullen said “The Government have completely taken nurses for granted for years now. The result is that their work and pay conditions have radically decreased over the past decade. Conditions in hospitals have deteriorated as staff are under-resourced and underpaid. Despite the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory, nurses' wages slipped behind other regions again this year because political games in Stormont prevented a sign off on a 4.5 per cent pay rise. On top of this, Health Workers have already had to wait for 8 months for a pay award as a result of Stormont dysfunction”
Cllr Mullen continued “Nurses are working exceptionally hard in a health care service that is completely falling apart. The North’s bowel and cervical screening programme are lagging worryingly behind neighbouring jurisdictions. A recent RCP report found that there was an 11-year waiting list for hip replacements. Stormont politicians sitting on their hands are pushing nurses against the wall and putting people’s lives at risk.”
“These problems are systemic. The essential work that nurses do in our community needs to be recognised, their pay needs to be brought up to standard with neighbouring jurisdictions. This needs to be supported with better investment in the Health Services to shorten waiting lists and provide better treatment for patients. It is complete hypocrisy that MLAs would picket with the nurses while it is their own inaction that has caused these problems. While nurses are not being fairly paid, MLAs are taking a wage while not doing the work they were sent to Stormont to do” Concluded Cllr Mullen
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