Health workers pay increase welcomed

Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy has welcomed the decision by Health Minister Michelle O’Neill not to implement a change in how some workers in the health service are paid.

The decision to move workers from weekly and fortnightly payments to monthly ones had been taken before the Minister took office.

“I want to thank and congratulate the Minister on halting this move which would have had a negative effect on part time lower paid workers,” he said.

“The simple reality is some staff members cannot afford to manage their money on a monthly basis as they do not earn enough. Fortunately a Sinn Féin Minister took office before these changes were implemented, engaged with staff to get their feelings on it and put a stop to the plans.

“This is typical of the sort of approach Minister O’Neill has taken since she took office; she has always said that front line staff, the people doing the work on the ground, should have a say in decisions taken further up the chain.

“Indeed just a few weeks ago, despite disgraceful cuts to our budget from Westminster, she implemented a 1% pay increase for health and social care staff while just a few days ago she announced that new drugs would be made available here for patients suffering from rare conditions such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in children.

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Murphy added, “These are the very real changes that affect people’s lives that can only be made working within government, not by posturing on the sidelines.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Jul 28 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry