Nursing staff at the majority of NHS employers across the UK have voted to take strike action over pay levels and patient safety concerns, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has confirmed. This is the first ever national action over a pay dispute in the 106-year history of the Royal College of Nursing.
Many of the biggest hospitals in England will see strike action by RCN members but some narrowly missed the legal turnout thresholds to qualify for action, the RCN has said. All NHS employers in Northern Ireland and Scotland will be included and all bar one in Wales met the relevant legal thresholds.
The strike ballot involved more than 300,000 members up and down the country. Industrial action is expected to begin before the end of this year and the RCN’s mandate to organise strikes runs until early May 2023, six months after members finished voting.
