Public support for nurses’ strikes higher than ever – survey
Posted 16 June 2023 - 12:26
Poll finds 3% rise in support compared with similar poll in December, with RCN head saying public support should encourage ministers back to the negotiating table
Public support for nurses’ strikes in their months-long dispute over pay and working conditions is higher than when walkouts began in December, a new poll suggests.
The survey for the RCN found 62% of the 2,029 people polled said they supported the strikes, which the college claims is the highest for any profession taking industrial action.
More than eight in ten respondents said they backed a pay rise for nurses, while 71% said there are too few nurses working in the NHS to provide safe care to patients.
The Yougov online survey was carried out between 9-11 June.
Patient support is ‘a real shot in the arm’ for nurses
Just before the RCN’s first strike in England and Wales on 15 December 2022, polling of 1,728 adults showed 59% supported nurses going on strike. This latest poll shows a 3% rise in that support.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: ‘To know that our patients still support our campaign for fair pay is a real shot in the arm. Nurses should see that the public backs them and they can back themselves.
‘The patients who came onto picket lines, many straight from a hospital bed, gave a real boost to nursing staff who worried about leaving patients.’
Survey results should lead to re-opened negotiations, says RCN
Ms Cullen added that the ‘unwavering’ public support should encourage ministers back to the negotiating table.
‘When you do the right thing by nurses, you do the right thing by patients,’ she said.
‘Voters of all parties are still with us, and it appears he [prime minister Rishi Sunak] urgently needs to get them back on side this summer.’
Nurses vote on extending strike mandate
Members of the RCN in England are currently voting on whether to extend the college’s strike mandate for a further six months after rejecting the latest pay offer from the government. The offer includes a 5% rise for 2023-24 and a series of one-off payments for 2022-23.
The ballot closes on 23 June, giving nurses one week from today to have their voice heard.
Ahead of the ballot closing, Ms Cullen spoke on the Nursing Standard podcast about the importance of the vote, what the government needs to do to support nurses, and her motivation to continue fighting for fairer pay.
Listen to Pat Cullen on the Nursing Standard podcast
NHS nurse pay: why a better deal is still worth fighting for
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