Today, nurses in England and Wales said that they support striking against the unacceptable 3 percent pay increase offered by Government.
As a warning shot for No10 regarding their anger at pay, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), voted in favor of industrial action.
A majority of nurses (90%) said that they would do whatever their patient requires. This is known as “work to rule”.
You should be able to start and finish your shifts on schedule, take all the breaks you are allowed, and refuse to work overtime.
Nurses were previously offered a 1 percent pay increase by the Government. This was criticized as ‘a slap on the face’ by the unions. In recognition of employees’ efforts during the pandemic, the government increased the offer to 3%.
But unions claimed it still amounts to a real terms pay reduction’, citing increasing inflation.
The new poll found that more than half of nurses said they were willing to strike, which could lead them to lose their jobs.
This new variant of the Covid could pose a significant threat to the health services as they head into winter.
However, it hasn’t indicated the date and time for this to happen. A second vote is required on the timing of industrial action.
The disruption of NHS services could be caused by nurses who work to run, as the staff survey revealed that more than 60% of nurses were working overtime unpaid every week.
After just a week, the nurses’ vote comes after England voted to back industrial action against a government scheme that would increase face-toface appointments.
Royal College of Nursing warned that there is a greater threat of nurses taking industrial action over wages. A ballot revealed that members of the union thought they would support any action, including strikes.
Although the ballot is indicative (meaning it gauges members’ opinions rather than acting as a binding mandate), it represents a first step toward industrial action by nurses across England and Wales.
The ballot was voted on by only one fourth of the nurses. If an official vote for industrial action were to take place, it would be necessary that at least half the RCN membership votes in order to make the election valid.
According to the union, it was not yet ready for next steps but said that its results would guide the next phase of its pay-off campaign.
Nursing leaders responded to the survey by saying that members feel ‘disrespected’ and devalued over the offer of 3 percent and that this would not address large staff shortages.
However Government has insisted the 3 per cent pay rise, which it says increased nurses pay by an average of £1,000 a year has been ‘rightly received’.
Like many NHS workers unions, the RCN disagrees and is campaigning to get its members a 1-year, 12.5 percent pay increase.
Speaking on today’s results, the interim head of the RCN council Carol Popplestone said: ‘Nursing staff do not consider industrial action lightly, but they will consider it if it means standing up for patients and their profession.’
Ms Popplestone argued that nurses pay needed to boost to attract more people into the profession, with a lack of staff endangering patients and pushing more staff out the door.
Politicians need to immediately increase their numbers by recruiting more nurses and keeping them. She said that members felt disrespected by the system and were devalued.
They are often expected to work under dangerous conditions and their pleas for assistance go unanswered. They aren’t prepared to place patients at risk, which drives many people out of this profession.
Even though the NHS says there are roughly 10,000 more nurses than last year, there are still almost 40,000 nursing positions in England.
Graham Revie, chair of the RCN trade union commission, stated that it was time for government to take action quickly.
In late 2019, nurses in Northern Ireland went on strike over their pay. They also refused to take extra shifts and left on time.
‘Ministers must stop pulling the wool over the public’s eyes and put patients’ interests above political point-scoring,’ he said.
‘Politicians boast about how many more nurses they’ve recruited but it’s just one side of the story. Tens of thousands of unfilled vacancies means patients can’t get the care they deserve.’
However, the spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care supported the Government’s position regarding nurses’ salaries.
‘NHS staff – from doctors and nurses to paramedics and porters – have rightly received a 3% pay rise this year, which has increased nurses’ pay by £1,000 on average,’ they said.
It will be similar to the Industrial Action taken in Northern Ireland by nurses late 2019 if nurses from England and Wales try to govern.
15,000 nurses from Northern Ireland took part in a dispute over pay.
The cancellation of treatments and appointments was a result. Minor injury units were also forced to shut down.
Because of its impact, the Northern Ireland Government was able to restore the government in just weeks. The officials met again in the next week to talk about the crisis that had been unaffected by the breakdown of an agreement on power sharing in 2017.
Nurses have indicated support for industrial action just a week after No10 doctors raised concerns about working conditions.
Last week, GPs in England supported industrial action instead of a government scheme to improve face-toface appointments.
Eight out of ten doctors stated that they are happy to not provide information on patients and to refuse to issue vaccination exemption letters.
The ballot by the British Medical Association (BMA) found nearly nine in 10 said they would be willing not to comply with the contractual requirement for the highest-earning GPs to publish their salaries.
According to the union, it has yet to determine its next steps or whether industrial action will be taken.
If it goes ahead, the strike will mark the first industrial action among medical staff since the five-year-old junior doctor strike that was over contract changes.
The poll of nearly 2,000 GP practices in England was prompted by a £250million package of measures to get patients more in-person consultations with GPs. Sajid Javid had a plan that would effectively “name and shame” underperforming practices.