Nurses vote to support strike action after ‘derisory’ 3% pay offer
THOUSANDS of nurses in Wales have voted to support strike action in the wake of the “derisory” 3% pay rise offered by the Welsh Government.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales announced the results of its indicative ballot, which ran from November 4 to 30, yesterday.
It found that more than half (55.9%) of its members who voted supported strike action while 90.6% backed action short of a strike.
While the result of the indicative ballot does not formally authorise industrial action RCN Wales will use it to consider the next steps in its campaign for fair pay.
In a previous ballot a significant majority of RCN members in Wales deemed the pay award unacceptable.
RCN Wales director Helen Whyley said: “This result shows the strength of feeling in the nursing profession. The Welsh Government cannot keep blaming Westminster for the decisions it makes on funding NHS nurses’ pay.
“Poor pay leads to unfilled nursing posts and that means patients don’t get the care they deserve.
“We will not give up until safe and effective nursing care is respected and protected. We will keep campaigning for ourselves, our profession, and our patients.”
Industrial action short of strike action could include activities such as starting and finishing shifts on time, taking all allocated breaks, or refusing to work overtime.
“Strike action would involve withdrawal of labour from the workplace.
RCN Wales board chair Richard Jones MBE said: “Nursing staff don’t consider industrial action lightly but they must stand up for the safety of patients.
“We are missing 1,719 registered nurses alone in the NHS in Wales.
“To reduce the risk to patients the Welsh Government needs to keep nurses working in the NHS instead of shrugging their shoulders when more and more nurses leave because they feel disrespected and devalued. “The public want the Welsh Government to prioritise safe patient care – that’s why 2,487 people have signed our petition to extend safe staffing legislation.”
Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, said: “This again shows the strength of feeling among the nursing workforce about the pay settlement.
“We can’t expect the kind of ongoing commitment that nurses give to their work and to patients without ensuring they’re properly and fairly rewarded.
“We will continue to join the RCN in calling on government to reconsider the pay deal.”
The First Minister has previously admitted that NHS Wales staff “deserve more” than the 3% pay rise being offered to them by the Welsh Government.
However Mark Drakeford conceded that the Welsh Government cannot afford to offer much more as it will eat into the funding given to vital services within the health service.
“In order to fund that 3% pay increase we have a 1% uplift from the UK Government.
“So the other 2% we are having to find from within the resources that are available to us for purposes other than pay,” he explained.
“Every 1% rise added to the NHS pay bill costs £50m.
“So the Welsh Government is funding £100m from resources that were not sent to us for pay purposes in order to make sure that we met the recommendations of the pay review body.
“Do I think that [pay offer] is enough? No, I don’t. Do I think the Welsh Government can go on funding dollops of £50m in order to increase the pay award above and beyond what we are funded to do so? The answer to that is no as well.”
Some 29.1% of 25,000 eligible members in RCN Wales took part in the ballot.
The Welsh Government needs to keep nurses working in the NHS instead of shrugging their shoulders when more nurses leave
Richard Jones of RCN Wales