Nurses Across The UK To Strike In Pay Dispute

A record number of nursing staff across the UK have voted for strike action, with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) stating that a majority of its members are prepared to join the picket line this winter.

Following the ballot, the RCN has said that strike action will now be organised at NHS Trusts and Health Board across the UK that met the relevant legal requirements.

Many of the biggest hospitals will see strike action by RCN members but others will narrowly miss the legal turnout thresholds to qualify for action.

All NHS employers in Northern Ireland and Scotland will be included and all bar one of the health boards in Wales met the relevant legal thresholds.

Members working at St Thomas' Hospital in London, opposite the House of Commons, will be taking strike action as well as members working at other leading hospitals in capital cities of the UK – the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Industrial action is expected to begin before the end of this year, with more detailed plans and timelines announced shortly.

RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: "I want to thank every member who took part in, or supported, this ballot. You can be very proud. The results are strong and clear.

"This is a defining moment in our history, and our fight will continue through strike action and beyond for as long as it takes to win justice for the nursing profession and our patients.

"Anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough. The voice of nursing in the UK is strong and I will make sure it is heard. Our members will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work.

"Ministers must look in the mirror and ask how long they will put nursing staff through this. While we plan our strike action, next week's budget is the UK government's opportunity to signal a new direction with serious investment. Across the country, politicians have the power to stop this now and at any point.

"This action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses. Standards are falling too low and we have strong public backing for our campaign to raise them. This winter, we are asking the public to show nursing staff you are with us."

Commenting on the RCN ballot and upcoming strike action, Former Ulster Unionist Health Minister, Robin Swann MLA said: "Whilst it is a decision I of course wish could have been avoided, few will be surprised by this result. Our nurses are experiencing the exact same soaring cost of living pressures as all those right across society. Notably however our HSC workers are also being deprived of even their basic independently recommended pay increases for 2022/23 as a result of the ongoing political instability in Northern Ireland.

"The previous industrial action in late 2019 and early 2020 was a key factor in the establishment of the last Executive. Within four days of taking up the role as Minister of Health I had worked with HSC trade unions and presented the plan to Executive colleagues that ultimately brought the action to an end.

"Whilst there were several reasons behind the previous action, essentially the three key asks were the reintroduction of pay parity, an increase to the workforce and a commitment to safe staffing legislation. I was pleased to be able to resolve each of those by delivering the immediate restoration of pay parity, setting an all-time high of 1,325 nurse and midwifery training places each year – which I increased further again this year - as well commencing the long process to deliver safe and sustainable legal staffing levels.

"Whilst an awful lot has changed from January 2020, not least with the onset of the pandemic, one thing that shouldn't have is the basic expectation that our HSC workers should be paid no less than their counterparts in England. Yet due to the collapse of a functioning Executive earlier this year that's exactly what has happened. It's shameful and it's ridiculous that given the well-known scale of pressures weighing down on our health service that the mistakes of the past are so quickly being repeated.

"Had an Executive been in place during the summer I could have immediately started the process of delivering the recommended increases in pay for our workers. Yet in the absence of an Executive, the absence of an agreed Budget and no wider decision on public sector pay – legally I wasn't able to.

"That is why earlier this week I wrote to the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris urging him to use his powers to maintain pay parity. Whilst it's really concerning there was no reference to this in his statement to the House of Commons, I would still hope that in the days ahead he recognises the harm to morale, as well as the disruption to key services, that will be inflicted if the inequity continues and isn't addressed.

"Whilst I appreciate the implementation of the pay review body recommendations alone would likely not have been enough to avert the decision of the RCN membership, it would be the necessary and absolutely essential first-step if we are to avoid the prospect of ongoing industrial action and disruption to HSC services over a considerable period."