Nurses vote to reject latest pay offer from Manx Care

The ballot over the latest pay offer closed on 22 March

Nurses on the Isle of Man have voted to throw out a new pay offer put forward by Manx Care.

About 85% of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members who voted rejected the offer of a 2% pay increase on top of a 4% rise applied in October.

RCN north west regional director Estephanie Dunn said the offer was "simply unacceptable" and the union's members had "spoken overwhelmingly".

Manx Care said it was unable to improve the offer due to financial constraints.

About 68% of eligible RCN members took part in the two-week poll on the latest pay offer, which also included an additional unconsolidated lump sum of £300.

The row over pay has been ongoing for almost two years, and in a poll in August 2022 about 55% of members said they were ready to take strike action in future.

'Terrible hardship'

Ms Dunn said nurses had faced a "decade of real-term pay cuts" and the "terrible hardship nursing staff are enduring alongside challenging working conditions shows no sign of easing".

She said she was shocked and saddened" that negotiations were going on for so long to get a "decent and fair deal for a profession that is so valuable to the community" at a time "when recruitment and retention of nurses is so urgent".

The RCN represents about 550 nurses on the island.

A Manx Care spokeswoman said the extra 2% offered had been in "recognition of the difficult financial climate and to lessen the adverse impact the prolonged negotiations have on our colleagues".

The health care provider said it recognised the "challenges of attracting staff, despite offering pay that is competitive with UK salaries".

The spokeswoman said they had increased nurse training bursaries to £10,000, agreed to double the intake of trainees in 2023, and "developed a pipeline of international recruits" to boost numbers.