A nursing academic yesterday urged the Hospital Authority to abandon proposed pay cuts for new nursing graduates, saying it would downgrade the status of the profession.
Starting salaries for new graduates could be cut by $2,090 to $16,480 a month, legislator Michael Mak Kwok-fung said on Monday. Graduates now start on $18,570 a month.
At least 400 nurses a year who seek employment with the Hospital Authority will be affected.
Professor Anne Chang, acting director of the Nethersole School of Nursing at the Chinese University, said: 'We are concerned about the implications it will have on the professional status of nursing.'
Professor Chang said although she had not been told officially by the authority about the plans, her students had voiced fears about the possible pay cuts. She wrote to the authority yesterday seeking clarification and details.
The Chinese University, the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have an annual intake of 414 students into their nursing degree programmes.
