Close scrutiny will be given by other public service unions to the award made to nurses. Nurses agreed as part of a settlement to a seven-week dispute last year to take their claim for a 10.6 per cent increase to the benchmarking body. They were unhappy with the outcome in 2002 and this in turn generated strong scepticism about the process this time around.
It is understood that some public sector union leaders have already signalled privately that if the nurses receive a substantially higher increase than other groups that it could have implications for the entire process.
Some union leaders have pointed out that in 2002 teachers received a higher-than average award following their industrial action campaign.