Posted 10 May 2023 - 12:10
Posted 10 May 2023 - 12:10
News
New nurses’ strikes: dates set for vote on more walkouts
An England-wide ballot asking nurses if they are prepared to stage further industrial action over pay will open on 23 May
An England-wide ballot asking nurses if they are prepared to stage further industrial action over pay will open on 23 May
Nurses are set to vote on whether to hold a fresh wave of strikes in England after rejecting the government’s latest pay offer.
The RCN will hold an England-wide ballot asking nurses if they are prepared to stage further walkouts over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 pay offers. Voting opens on from Tuesday 23 May and closes on Friday 23 June
The new ballot will be aggregated, which means the college will seek a country-wide mandate. To reach a legal mandate for industrial action at least 50% of eligible members must vote and a majority of those who vote must be in favour.
If approved, it would give the RCN a further six-month mandate to hold strikes in every NHS trust in England where its members are employed.
Previous mandate was for individual NHS employers but new strikes, if approved, could target every trust
The previous mandate was for individual NHS employers, which meant only specific trusts that met the voter turnout threshold were able to take part in strike action.
The new ballot comes after RCN members voted down a 5% pay rise for this year (2023-24) and a one-off payment of between £1,655 and £3,789 for 2022-23. The one-off payment was on top of a 4% consolidated rise already on the table.
But the pay deal was given the go ahead by the NHS Staff Council on 2 May, paving the way for the government to enforce the deal for all staff on Agenda for Change contracts in England.
Speaking at a health and social care select committee session on 9 May, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said she was still hoping the government would restart negotiations to avoid further strike action.
RCN’s Pat Cullen still hoping to resolve dispute without needing to stage further picket lines
‘What I’m hoping for is a resolution to the current dispute. If we get a resolution, we wouldn’t see our nursing staff having to take to picket lines again.’
When asked if the RCN’s initial pay demand of 19% was excessive and could have contributed to the rejection of the 5% offer, Ms Cullen said the RCN had never asked for a 19% increase but she believed nurses deserved that amount.
‘The 19% was never our policy position. What we did say was we would get into a room and negotiate,’ she said.
‘I think our members are entitled to 19% because their pay has been eroded by 20%. The cost of living has significantly increased and our nurses are struggling. That is shown by the recruitment and retention issues we have.’
Ballot papers will be sent out by post. Members can log into MyRCN to make sure their address and other personal details are up to date.
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