Nine out of 10 nurses have rejected a 3.6 percent pay award for this year, and the union has told ministers to “use the summer to reach an agreement on investment in the nursing workforce".
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said the pay award was not enough to turn around a profession gripped by widespread vacancies, years of pay erosion, and thwarted career progression.
It warned they could strike later this year unless their salaries are improved.
In a vote among RCN members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 91 percent said the pay rise was not enough. The turnout was 56 percent.
This overwhelming rejection poses a fresh challenge to ministers in London, Cardiff and Belfast.
For health secretary Wes Steering, it is an additional headache as he is trying to resolve the strike action by resident doctors in NHS England.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said, “My profession feels deeply undervalued and that is why record numbers are telling the government to wake up, sense the urgency here and do what’s right by them and by patients."
“To avoid formal escalation, the government must be true to its word and negotiate on reforms of the outdated pay structure, which traps nursing staff at the same band for their entire career,” she added.
Responding to this development, Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said, “NHS leaders will be disappointed to hear of the threat of further walk-outs given the dust has barely settled on the five-day resident doctor strike."
“But we welcome the RCN’s willingness to engage on wider issues than pay, given the red lines set by the government that the NHS must live within its means. We hope that the government can respond to the tight timetable for negotiations set by the RCN so there is no need for further strikes,” he added.
Deighton observed that it is always the patients who end up suffering the most during industrial action.
