Sir, The nurses together with their respective unions are appealing once again to our government for a first and indeed long overdue recognition. This recognition can be best justified by awarding nurses a pay agreement comparable to the other public servants.
We are at the bottom end of the public sector pay scale and I often wonder does sexism play a part in this. Nursing is predominantly female and perhaps does not rate highly in the mostly male monetary government structures. Whoever heard of a female minister for finance or indeed a female, governor of a bank, so the nurses demands can appear to be easily dismissed by the upper echelons of fiscal power. Maybe the powers that be perceive that because we have a "vocation" we are immune to those little brown envelopes with windows which so regularly arrive and refuse to be ignored.
The majority of the public and all of the media appear to be the most sympathetic to our case. Nurses care for people and are often over taxed physically, mentally and emotionally, however we still try to function calmly, decisively and react caringly to all situations.
Probably our most notable characteristic is not to voice complaints, but for everyone there comes a time when "silence is not golden".
So for the nurses of Ireland collectively the time to air our grievances is imminent and long overdue. Hopefully the Government will act and redress the imbalance by finally awarding a remuneration that reflects on our multi skilled profession. Yours, etc., RGN, SCM, Upper Churchtown Road, Dublin 14.