§ 36. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs if nurses come within his definition of lower-paid workers.
§ Mr. Frederick LeeNurses are salaried staff whose scales of pay cover a very wide range. It is not possible to quote a specific level of remuneration below which staff can be defined as lower paid, and individual cases need to be considered on their merits.
§ Mr. HamiltonDoes my right hon. Friend not recognise that there is no group in the country for whom an increase in wages would meet with more universal consent than the nurses, and will he give an assurance that when the General Nursing Council comes forward with proposals he will regard them in the most generous light possible?
§ Mr. LeeI have much sympathy with the point made by my hon. Friend, but there is a very wide diversion in the actual pay scales, and for the initial stages it is up to the parties concerned to negotiate before the matter ever comes to us.