As I am not a union member, so I don't get to vote. Fortunately, I came into this field recently by way of career change, so I can vote with my feet. My loss may not be noticed, but I may feel better for it!
On a more serious note, the nursing staff have been underpaid and undervalued for many years, this deal is really for them. All the job evaluation criteria is based around their skills. Unfortunately we do not score highly in many crucial areas. Most if not all new nurses are degree qualified this is becoming
a requirement. Although I have a degree, it is not a requirement for my job and will not be counted so they are one up there already.
If agenda for change gives the Nursing staff a better deal, they will vote for it and there are more of them than us. So however our (your) unions vote, the numbers are not in our favour. Lets face it the Government are not going to alienate the whole of the Nursing profession by stopping agenda for change because a few biomeds are against it.
I can only and do hope that locally our management realise what we provide and decide to reward us accordingly. Engineers in other fields are comparatively well paid, but do not have the job security the NHS provides. I revert to my first statement and if it does not go in my favour, a few recruitment agencies will be getting my CV.
