In a statement the executive director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Northern Ireland, Professor Rita Devlin said: “A pay award that falls below current inflation is very disappointing to our members.”
She added: “While this pay award will be implemented immediately in England and Wales, nursing staff in Northern Ireland are yet again being left without any certainty about when they will receive it.”
Devlin said it was “indefensible” that the absence of a budget is blocking a pay award.
“Morale is at an all‑time low and nursing staff, who already feel deeply undervalued, are leaving.
“We must address these issues if we are to deliver safe care to the people of Northern Ireland,” she said.