Thornley, Carole (1993) Pay determination for nurses : pay review, grading and training in the 1980s. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis develops a policy-oriented account and evaluation of pay
determination and associated employment changes for U.K. nursing staff
in the 1980s, within an analytical framework for understanding nursing
pay processes and outcomes over longer time horizons and with greater
generalisability. In particular, an analysis is conducted of the Pay
Review Body for Nurses and Midwives and of the interlinkages between
pay determination, grading and training at different levels of
aggregation. The study is multidisciplinary, employing a wide range
of primary documentation, and findings from national-level interviews
and local case studies at eight district health authorities in the
West Midlands region.
The thesis divides into three parts. The first locates nursing pay
determination in historical context. Structural characteristics in
the health division of labour and in the wider political economy lend
a degree of apparent continuity to nursing pay levels. However, this
appearance masks important change which must also be understood. The
second evaluates the origins of nursing pay review, its processes and
outcomes. The conflicting bargaining positions and power relations
between the 'Sides' in pay review are noted, together with the
continued importance of negotiation and of 'non-pay' issues. The role
of the Pay Review Body is considered alongside nursing pay outcomes.
Although the Review Body could be seen as contributing to conservative
outcomes for nurses' pay, there are complex feedbacks within the
system which must also be understood. The third section considers
'non-pay' issues and tne interplay of national and local forces in an
evaluation of local managerial perspectives on nurse resourcing and
employment changes in the 1980s. It is argued that a 'crisis' occurred
in the late 1980s, rooted in history and political economic
circumstance, and that the process of pay deceritralisation should be
understood in this light. This process, however, is a risky and
uncertain one.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	R Medicine > RT Nursing
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Nurses -- Salaries, etc. -- Great Britain
Official Date:	June 1993
Dates:	Date Event June 1993 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Industrial and Business Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Winchester, David ; Nolan, Peter
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) ; University of Warwick
Extent:	ix, 301 leaves
Language:	eng

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