Readers' letters

Nurses across the North West are calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to scrap the one per cent pay cap when he delivers his Autumn Statement on November 
23.

The one per cent cap on pay increases for public sector workers has meant that some nurses have seen their pay fall by up to 14 per cent in real terms since 2010 – a massive impact.

In the North West, some NHS Trusts are facing a recruitment crisis which could mean Trusts will soon lack the staff needed to provide safe patient care.

Nurses are telling us they struggle to cope on their current pay levels and feel undervalued which leads to low morale and staff leaving the profession for good.

Unless the Chancellor takes urgent steps to ensure nursing pay reflects the complexity and value of the role, the nursing profession is being led into crisis.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing are calling for a fair deal by asking the Chancellor to scrap the one per cent public sector pay cap for NHS staff, award NHS staff with an above-inflation pay increase and return to a UK-wide pay rate in the NHS.

If you would like to show your support for fair pay for nursing staff, visit www.rcn.org.uk/nursingcounts to find out what we are doing and to sign the petition on nursing pay.

Let’s tell the Chancellor that this is his opportunity to show that the Government does indeed value nurses.

Thousands of nursing staff across the North West region are dedicated to caring for you, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whatever your illness or condition.

Please show your support for us.

Paul Wood

RCN North West

Operational Manager

transport

Tell us your bike tales

Award-winning documentary company Testimony Films is making a new documentary for BBC4, celebrating the history of the Raleigh Bicycle Company and the bicycles that revolutionised cycling in Britain. We are looking for interesting stories throughout the decades from the people who enjoyed Raleigh bicycles.

We would love to hear from the oldest people in Britain who have had or still own a Raleigh bike. Were you born in the interwar period and can talk about cycling in the 1920s and 1930s? Do you have fond memories of a Raleigh bike? If cycling has had, or still has, an impact on your life or that of someone you know, we would love to talk to you about your story.

If you would like to share your memories with us, please get in touch with me. Ring 0117 925 8589, email [email protected], or write to 12 Great George Street, Bristol, BS1 5RH.

Emily Sivyer

Assistant Producer

remembrance

No place for politicians

I watched the Remembrance ceremony and also saw two men, who were seriously injured in Iraq, being interviewed. Then Tony Blair appeared in a line with other no-marks like Brown and Major. That war was illegal so what was he doing there ? It’s an insult to the dead, and especially those who died or were injured in that war. In fact, the presence of any politicians is an insult.

These politicians are the people who fight wars from their armchairs. I find it distasteful and I know my dad would be turning in his grave at the spectacle of them being there.

R Kimble via email