The Jersey Nursing Association has accused States Employment Board chairwoman Senator Tracey Vallois of using ‘rhetoric’ in a letter sent to staff this week. The accusation comes as a number of public sector unions prepare to ballot their members over industrial action following a well-attended pan-union meeting on Thursday evening, during which an informal vote indicated overwhelming support for action.
Large numbers of public sector workers are unhappy with their pay offer for 2018 and 2019, which would see their wages fail to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
Nurses and midwives have expressed particular discontent in recent weeks as they feel that promises made several years ago to equalise their pay with other public sector workers have not been kept.
Senator Vallois’ letter to the nurses said that this matter needed to be addressed but rejected calls to grant high ‘recurring’ pay rises using one-off States budget surpluses because it would be financially ‘irresponsible’.
In a joint statement, Alison Pell and Terry Hanby, chairwoman and convener of the Jersey Nursing Association, said that they were ‘disappointed’ with the letter.
‘The anger among nurses is currently so intense, that a traditionally conservative professional group are now openly talking about strike action,’ it says.
‘We feel that the employer has backed nurses into a corner in full knowledge that our colleagues in the Royal College of Nursing are handicapped in their available responses as their constitution prohibits the withdrawal of contracted labour.’
It adds that the 4.5 per cent average pay rise publicly stated by the States is misleading and does not reflect the ‘differential’ pay offers being made to staff.
During the unions’ meeting, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Sam Cooper of the Jersey Association of Headteachers said: ‘We have had enough of the changing landscape in education without being provided with the tools to do this work.
‘We have had enough of trying to protect and enhance the wellbeing of our staff without anybody considering our roles.
‘We have had enough of being told year after year that, despite our important work, we are not worth the cost of living.’
Meanwhile, Andy Woolley from the National Eduction Union said that Jersey teachers, and other public sector staff, were ‘unpaid, undervalued and over-worked’.
He added: ‘We’re told Jersey is a lovely place to live, but you can’t eat sunshine and you can’t eat scenery.’
Following a meeting with the unions’ representatives on Thursday, Senator Vallois said the SEB were ‘giving careful consideration’ to their concerns.
‘Officials will provide the Board with further options and analysis of costs, keeping in mind the financially-constrained environment we are working in,’ she said.
‘The Board is keen to proceed by agreement if possible and has asked officials to continue discussions with all unions immediately after the next States Employment Board meeting on 5 November, at which we will consider potential next steps. We hope all parties recognise the need to work towards equal pay for work of equal value, for all States employees.’
