SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan
Mr Durkan argued that the future of the health service depends on a meaningful pay uplift for its staff.
Said the Foyle MLA: “I have been persistent in calling for a meaningful pay rise for our health staff, particularly over the course of the last several years.
“Following years of paying lip service to the NHS, it is crucial that an acceptable uplift is provided.
“Health workers deserve real, tangible and meaningful recognition of their sacrifice throughout this pandemic.
“It is evident that the need for an NHS pay uplift pre-existed Covid but given the increased challenges facing our health service in the time ahead, including the backlog of appointments and chronic waiting lists, providing an acceptable pay increase is crucial.
“Never again should NHS staff need to resort to strike action to be heard.
“In financial terms this workforce is among the most undervalued across these islands. We can never repay the invaluable service they provide on a daily basis.
Derry nurses on strike in January 2020 over pay parity and safety in hospitals for patients and staff
“Yet their pay does not adequately reflect the invaluable nature of their service.
“The Health Minister must also ensure the £500 Covid recognition payment is rolled-out to all health staff as soon as possible.
“The health system has suffered over a decade of chronic underinvestment- there is an evident need to put controls on spiralling agency spending and implement proper workforce planning.
“The improvement of pay conditions for health staff is an important element of that and would go a long way to provide the morale boost health workers desperately need.”
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