NURSES’ SCALE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22623, 28 April 1948, Page 4

NURSES’ SCALE

ANOMALIES NOTED SALARY PLUS OVERTIME HOSPITAL BOARD VIEWS Members of the Cook Hospital Board at their monthly meeting on Monday welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Health of the improved scale of remuneration for nursing stalls, but found that certain anomalies were likely to be established by the endeavour to improve the situation of the lower-paid ranks of the profession. After a lengthy discussion on the effect of the £3BO maximum for nursing sisters holding no special appointments, the board unanimously carried a motion submitted by Mr. H. H. Barker as under: — “That while welcoming the increase in the scale of nurses’ salaries, this board objects to the reference to overtime allowance, since the specified overtime rate fixed is only half the ordinary rate; that this board objects to the limitation of £3BO on salary plus overtime, since this limitation has the effect in some cases of levelling down the remuneration of senior employees to the same rate as is payable to those junior to them, and urges the Hospitals’ Association to press for a general increase of 10 per cent on the basic rates of nurses in recognition of the fact that nursing staffs cannot work a 40-hour week.” No Premium For Skill Mr. Barker pointed out that work beyond the 40-hour standard was so usual in hospitals that a number of nurses would reach the £3BO mark. Senior members of the staff, therefore, would enjoy no premium for skill and experience, since they would reach the maximum early and stay there while their juniors overtook them. The board also discussed other anomalies, including the differential payment of living-allowance for nurses on leave, and it was decided to write to the Hospitals’ Association seeking an interpretation of the clauses in the new scale relating to this payment.