Thousands of nurses set to strike over pay
TENS of thousands of “angry and frustrated” nurses are set to stage a summer of protests after a poll showed strong support for strikes over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing warned that unless the next government drops a one per cent cap on pay it will ballot for industrial action later this year.
They would be the first ever strikes by its members.
The RCN said that in a consultative ballot, nine out of 10 nurses voted for action short of a strike while almost four in five backed walk-outs. More than 50,000 of the RCN’S 270,000 members took part in the poll.
Another ballot would have to be held before any action takes place.
The RCN has warned that low levels of pay are partly responsible for tens of thousands of unfilled nursing posts.
Nurses have suffered a 14 per cent pay cut in real terms since 2010 because of a Government cap on public sector pay, said the RCN. A formal pay cap of one per cent was introduced in 2015. A newly-qualified nurse currently earns around £22,000, with this slowly rising to £27,000 depending on experience.
But the RCN wants pay adjustments to return to being at least in line with inflation to prevent further effective year on year pay cuts.
Michael Brown, chairman of the RCN Council, said: “Our members have given us the very clear message that they can’t and won’t take any more.
“This is an unprecedented show of anger and frustration over the Government’s pay policy. Politicians must now listen and tell us what they will do about nursing pay.
“It’s a message to all parties that the crisis in nursing recruitment must be put centre stage in this election.”
Janet Davies, general secretary of the RCN, said: “What’s happened today is unprecedented for the RCN and is a reflection of the deep anger members feel.
“Our argument is not with patients – this is about ensuring that they get the safe and effective care they need.”