The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has launched its “No to 65!” campaign, in an effort to urge the Government to rethink plans to compel nurses to carry on working until 65. Nurses from across the UK have said they will not rule out the option of industrial action if the Government raises their retirement age to 65.
Nurses fight to defend their pensions
Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, said: “The message from nurses is clear: they overwhelmingly reject any move to raise their retirement age and feel strongly enough to consider taking industrial action if the need arises. “Nursing is a physically and emotionally demanding job. To try and force nurses to carry on working beyond the age of 60 will only lead to more ill-health retirements in the NHS and undermine morale at a time of serious global shortages.”
The RCN is currently taking part in negotiations with other unions and the Government on public sector pension provision. Verity Lewis, the RCN’s senior employment relations adviser, said: “We do not believe the Government has made a convincing case for either raising the retirement age or getting rid of the final salary pension scheme. As well as saying no to 65, we will be fighting to protect nurses’ final salary pensions.
These are widely viewed as the gold standard of pension schemes and replacing them with one based on average earnings does not provide the same incentive for nurses to develop their careers.”
