Posted 23 September 2024 - 14:45
Posted 23 September 2024 - 14:45
News
NHS nursing staff reject 5.5% pay award
Nurses and support staff in England’s NHS tell their union, the RCN, in an online consultation that they want to reject the government’s 5.5% pay award. The award is expected in to appear in salaries from next month. College leaders have not revealed their next move, but general secretary Nicola Ranger said nursing staff do not feel valued and want urgent action.
Nurses and support staff in England’s NHS tell their union they want to reject the government’s 5.5% pay award
Nursing staff in the NHS have rejected the pay award for 2024-25 in England.
Some 145,000 RCN members took part in the online consultation, which closed on Friday. Two thirds said they wanted to reject the 5.5% award from ministers. It is expected to appear in pay packets next month.
The delayed award was on the recommendation of the NHS Pay Review Body and includes changes aimed at improving progression for staff on Agengda for Change (AfC) band 8.
Nurses are determined to stand up for themselves
RCN general secretary professor Nicola Ranger said: ‘We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the determination of nursing staff to stand up for themselves, their patients and the NHS they believe in.
‘Nursing staff were asked to consider if, after more than a decade of neglect, they thought the pay award was a fair start. This outcome shows their expectations of government are far higher.
‘Our members do not yet feel valued and they are looking for urgent action, not rhetorical commitments. Their concerns relate to understaffed shifts, poor patient care and nursing careers trapped at the lowest pay grades. They need to see that the government’s reform agenda will transform their profession as a central part of improving care for the public.’
‘Ministers must hear nurses’ message’
The RCN said the high turnout for its consultation surpassed those of two statutory ballots for industrial action, held by the union in 2022 and 2023, the first of which sanctioned strike action.
The college is yet to confirm its next move, but said on X, that the ‘UK government must hear that message.’
RCN Scotland has announced that its members have voted to accept the 5.5% pay offer from the government negotiated directly between unions and Holyrood, with 61% of the vote in favour of accepting the deal. Unite and Unison have already announced their members have accepted it with 93% and 89% voting in favour respectively.
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