CONFIDENTIAL
LO
5
REQUEST FOR IMPROVED PAY SCALES FROM NURSES
Background
8.
The staff associations of the nursing staff have requested that the cxisting ranks of Registered Nurse, Nursing Officer II and Nursing Officer I be combined into a through pay scale of $2,290-$5,595 on the ground that the ranks of Radiographer II and I have been combined. The request is not acceptable because there are distinct functional differences between the ranks, The Medical and Health Department, however, promised at its meeting with representatives of nursing staff and their associations on 13.9.78 that the Department would put forward proposals for an improved career structure within one month. These proposals (after initial vetting by the Finance Branch and the Civil Service Branch) were subsequently put to the Staff Associations in a letter dated 12.10.78.
This was followed by a newsletter dated 13.10.78 covering a wide range of subjects including the proposals to enhance career prospects.
g.
The Association of Government Nursing Staff held an Extraordinary General Meeting on 20.10.78 to discuss the management's proposals but decided that it should insist on its original proposal for a through scale and warned that a token strike would be staged if their demands were not met.
10.
The Nurses are well paid on the basis of general comparison. Entering with a 'clerical' type qualification (form 5 level) on pay similar to Clerical Officers, they receive a 10 point ($1,000) jump in pay after 3 years training. There is no shortage of recruits. Moreover, they have a better scale than Certificated Masters, with whom they have a traditional relativity. (Both resorted to industrial action some years ago and pay for both was reviewed together, outside the context of the 1971 Salaries Commission.)
Current situation
11.
A formal meeting to discuss management's proposals and other points raised by the staff between Medical and Health Department and Staff Associations will be held on 8.11.78, at which a Civil Service Branch representative will also be present. A smaller, informal discussion will precede it in an attempt to persuade the Nurses to take a more reasonable attitude, and to find out whether their claims reflect their real grievances.
/INDUSTRIAL
CONFIDENTIAL