Isle of Man nurses pause strike action after new pay offer

Under the proposed deal, nurses would receive a total pay offer of 12.75% over two years

Planned strike action by nurses on the Isle of Man has been paused to allow a new offer to be considered, a union has said.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members have disputed pay rises offered by Manx Care since 2020-21.

The union said the provider's offer of a 4% rise for 2021-22 was unchanged, but it had raised an offer of 6% with a £1,000 lump sum for 2022/23 to 8.75%.

Manx Care said the extra funding had been made made available by Treasury.

Chief executive Teresa Cope said an emergency business case had been submitted over the weekend and an extra £673,000 had been secured by the health care body.

An additional £1.8m had already been signed off by the government to cover the £1,000 consolidated lump sum, she said.

The RCN said that as a result of the offer, strike action on 18 and 19 October had been paused and its members would be surveyed.

The long-running dispute has already led to two rounds of strike action by nurses on the island.

The island's health care provider previously said that while it respected the nurses' right to take action, it could not afford to improve its pay award offer.

The union said it was invited to talks on 5 October where the offer was discussed and following the receipt of a formal letter on 9 October, it was agreed the planned walk-outs should be put on hold.

RCN North-West regional director Estephanie Dunn said the total pay offer of 12.75% over two years was a "step in the right direction" but it was up to members to "decide if the offer is enough to end this dispute".

"We still have some way to go to really believe that the Manx government are investing in the sustainable future of nursing on the Isle of Man", she added.

The RCN has about 550 members working for Manx Care.

The union said its consultation on the new deal would run until 25 October.

"If members reject the offer, we will announce further dates for strike action [but] if they accept, the pay dispute will be resolved," a representative said.

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