The plan of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to increase the annual registration fee for nurses is being criticized by Health unions, says a new report.

It is being said by the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and Unite that the proposed plan is nor worth. It simply cannot be accepted as nurses have already been facing many attacks on their pay packets.

As per the findings, the NMC has made a proposal to raise the registration fee for midwives and nurses from £76 to £120 i. e. by 58%. According to its belief, the same would help it in remaining in sync with the fitness-to-practice referrals that are continuing to rise.

It has been found that the NMC responsible for regulating around 670,000 nurses and midwives in the UK has also announced a 12-week consultation. It is aimed at discussing the increase and if the future fees should be related to inflation.

While the unions claim that nurses have already been facing a pay freeze since two years, the NMC says, "Our current fixed annual income of £53 million simply cannot keep pace with the additional fitness-to-practice activity that is now needed to manage the increase in referrals that we have seen in recent years".