IT is important to note that the extra pay rise for newly qualified nurses is simply the sugar coating on the

bitter pill of performance-related

pay, which the present Government seem intent on introducing throughout their departments.

All but a few public-sector workers will suffer as these systems are employed. It will soon become apparent that in order to reward those who ''appear'' to perform particularly well when there is an increasingly limited pot of money, those who perform to a perfectly satisfactory level will lose out.

It is this attempt to measure effort which turns an intrinsically divisive principle into a sinister motivational tactic. If everyone in a certain department put in more effort, would they all receive the top pay rise? It is more likely that only a certain percentage of staff would be suitably rewarded, the benchmark targets would rise with the result being competitive pay and targets which increase in a ratcheting fashion. The choice of targets against which to measure performance can also be unsatisfactory; for example,

teachers have no control over the capability of their pupils, nor do doctors or nurses have control over the ill-health of the patients who come to them for treatment. How can any extra effort from these employees be fairly measured?

I hope Mr Blair realises that departments full of people working themselves to the limit for a moderate pay rise on an already poor wage provide no incentive for potential nurses and teachers of the future. Indeed, his motivational tactic of performance-related pay might well serve to drive out those who already work in our schools and hospitals.

Emma McLean,

20 York Place,

Newport,

South Wales.

February 3.