Fw: Health visitors horrified by 58 per cent hike in NMC fees - Unite press release

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FYI thought you might be interested in this press release todayVBWMaggieSent from my BlackBerry® wireless deviceFrom: "Noble, Shaun" <Shaun.Noble@...>Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 17:05:31 +0100Subject: Health visitors "horrified" by 58 per cent hike in NMC fees - Unitepress release Unite Press Release Immediate release: 17 May 2012 Health visitors “horrified” by 58 per cent hike in NMC fees Health visitors and community nurses are “horrified” by the 58 per cent hike in the fee to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Unite, the largest union in the country, said today (Thursday, 17 May). Unite, which embraces the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association; the Mental Health Nurses Association; and the Society of Sexual Health Advisors, said this was ‘another tax’ on hard-pressed and dedicated community nurses already hitby a two-year pay freeze, a steep increase in pension contributions and facing the prospect of regional pay. Unite’s lead professional officer, Obi Amadi said: “Our members are horrified by this proposed 58 per cent rise from £76 to £120-a-year – a fee they must pay, if they wish to practice their profession. ”Our members resent having to pick up the bill for the failings of the NMC – which have been highlighted by two independent reviews saying how dysfunctional the organisation is. “The NMC has cut back on services. It has shelved work on the third part of the register and restricted the ability of NMC registrants to raise concerns about practice issues. “This is highway robbery from a body that urgently needs to put its own house in order before dipping into the purses of nurses for outrageous fee increases. “The proposed fee rise is out for consultation and we hope that strong representations from stakeholder organisations will cause the NMC to have a serious rethink on this.” ENDS For further information, please contact Unite professional officer, Dave Munday on 07918 630 700 Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest trade union with 1.5 million members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey. This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are private and intended solely for theuse of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received thise-mail in error, please return it to the address it came from telling them it is notfor you and then delete it from your system.