Neil Guckian has said the importance of a pay award for health staff cannot be overstated with the Western Trust ‘haemorrhaging staff’ to Donegal and Sligo. - video Dailymotion

Derry Journal

Neil Guckian has said the importance of a pay award for health staff cannot be overstated with the Western Trust ‘haemorrhaging staff’ to Donegal and Sligo.

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00:00Absolutely, we can't overstate the importance of the pay award. We are working in an incredibly

00:05competitive workplace. We have an opportunity to be the first year since 2018 where we could

00:14have a winter without either industrial action or a pandemic, and we are on the cusp of that.

00:21So I would really ask everyone to use all their efforts. I would also ask a question whether

00:27is it just health? Because I'm an advocate for health and I work in health. Is it just health

00:32workers that aren't getting their pay rise this year, or is this public sector-wide? I really

00:38don't know the answer to that, but I would ask that, Chair. We would also emphasise the fact

00:45that we are competing against other marketplaces. The Republic of Ireland are paying significantly

00:50more than Northern Ireland for health and social care workers. I provide services on the border,

00:56so I have doctors who can actually live in Derry and provide a rota in a letter kenny. Likewise,

01:02Enniskillen with Sligo. We are hemorrhaging staff to across the border in terms of pharmacy,

01:08EHBs and social workers. So without regular pay awards, and these pay awards are not really

01:13keeping pace with inflation, so we really cannot overstate the importance of the pay award,

01:18and likewise, industrial action will pull our services down during the winter. We cannot allow

01:23ourselves to get into that position.

Neil Guckian has said the importance of a pay award for health staff cannot be overstated with the Western Trust ‘haemorrhaging staff’ to Donegal and Sligo.

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