New pay deal for Jersey nursing staff put on hold

Nursing Times reported yesterday that unions had agreed a new pay deal. However, it has now been confirmed that the process has come to a halt.

The Jersey Government – known as the States Assembly – has agreed to work with the royal colleges of nursing and midwifery and the JNA to close the pay gap between nurses and midwives with other allied health professionals.

To help form a pay deal, three separate ballots were carried out by each of the three unions.

A spokesman from the JNA told Nursing Times it received the wrong information in regard to what was on offer and so the information sent to its members in the postal ballot was incorrect.

This meant that the information its members voted on was not accurate and so it was decided that the vote should be re-run. He highlighted that this was a “rare occurrence”.

The spokesman said that the new JNA ballot was sent yesterday with the correct information.

A joint statement from the JNA, RCN and RCM highlighted that results of both the RCN and RCM were to “accept the mediated pay offer and the result is valid and stands”.

“Prior to counting of the JNA ballot it was noted that the wrong information regarding the pay offer was sent out to members by the JNA and this union only,” it said.

According to the statement, the ballot will close at 5pm on 12 April and the new results from the JNA ballot will be announced on Monday 15 April.

“The RCM and RCN will not be re-running their ballots as the members were given the correct information on which to vote on and the voting process was robust,” the statement read.

“Once this final result is known, we will be in a position to know what happens next,” it added.

“If the result is to accept, the States will be informed, and the pay offer will go through,” it said. “If the result is to reject, the unions and the States will need to meet to decide the next steps.”

As reported by Nursing Times yesterday, the new proposed deal gives professionals a 3.1% increase backed to 1 April 2018 and a 3.01% rise from 1 April 2020.

It also includes a clause that means if any other pay group receives a higher package offer through negotiation in the three-year period this will also apply to nurses and midwives.

Nursing Times approached Jersey Government but it declined to comment.

https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/new-pay-deal-for-jersey-nursing-staff-put-on-hold/7028481.article