The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is balloting 300,000 of its members about strike action over pay and staff shortages. The ballot, which is the first in the union’s 106-year history, is in protest at the government’s decision in July to award most NHS staff a 5% pay rise. The RCN is campaigning for a rise of 5% above inflation, which is currently 10.1%.
Five nurses share their views on potential strike action.
‘I see no other option’
I didn’t think I would support a strike until now. I see no other option. Patient safety is of paramount importance and unfortunately due to the unsafe staffing levels, we have been unable to provide this for far too long. Enough is enough.
I am insulted by the 5% pay increase, which is not in line with inflation. After 15 years of nursing, I should ideally be at a level where I’m comfortable, but I’m just about covering my bills. I’m having to do extra shifts to get by, although I’m already burnt out with the shifts I’m doing. With the cost of living increasing, I am now starting to think of other jobs I can do. I’m even considering going back to university to self-fund a course to leave the nursing profession.
I have a grave concern that people are not educated on what a strike would look like. It’s quite surprising talking to experienced colleagues who say they couldn’t possibly walk out and leave the patients – because that wouldn’t happen. In real terms, a strike would look like a normal weekend or a bank holiday. On strike days they’d ensure that there is cover for essential services and all critical care would go ahead as normal. And in actual fact, we’re working with unsafe numbers every single day. Striking is a means to end unsafe staffing practices.
Rosanne, 36, advanced nurse practitioner in emergency care, Lanarkshire
‘Real-term pay has dropped like a stone in the past decade’
I would reluctantly support a strike. I know of more junior colleagues who are really struggling to manage. This includes professional, qualified staff as well as the healthcare support workers, who do much of the “grunt work” on wages that are shamed in comparison with Lidl.
Although strikes would necessarily cause some disruption, this would be small beer compared with the ongoing day-to-day chiselling away at NHS services caused by austerity over the past 12 years. The 5% pay rise is completely inadequate. Real-term pay has dropped like a stone in the past decade. We cannot recruit. We cannot retain staff. And given the stratospheric rise in living costs, these problems will just be compounded over time.
Personally, I think I have a reasonably good wage, although friends who work in the private sector don’t think it really stacks up given the training and experience I have, but nonetheless I have had a 9% real-terms pay cut between 2010 and 2021.
Stewart, adult mental health nurse, Portsmouth
‘I’m happy to cover shifts’
I have recently returned to nursing for the last month after spending two years disabled and housebound with endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids. So I have actually seen the profession from both sides. I’ve gone from living on universal credit and Esa as a single mother to having a salary, so at this point I’m just happy to be earning a wage.
I’m not a member of the RCN yet – I do intend to join, but until now I haven’t even been able to afford the membership fee. There’s nothing left to cut out, besides food. We don’t have a TV any more. We’ve got a lot of blankets and we’re putting on jumpers. But I will go with what my colleagues say in the ballot. They’ve been working longer than me, so I listen to them.
I’m happy to cover shifts or to go out myself. Whatever my colleagues want, I’m here to support them.
Ellie, 37, vaccination nurse, Inverness
‘Public opinion turns very quickly’
I retired at age 55 after 35 years. I’ve returned part-time because I still need the money to pay my mortgage. I was offered a staff nurse post in the private sector for a salary of £41,000. The equivalent NHS role pays £25,000.
The 5% pay rise was another insulting pay cut in real terms. Health and social care need real investment, and paying the staff properly is essential. The RCN-led strike in Northern Ireland shows that industrial action can be taken safely.
I have some concerns about how quickly public perception of nurses will shift, driven by the media. Nurses are generally seen as sort of angelic carers answering a vocation to do their best, but public opinion turns very quickly.
Tim, 55, retired mental health nurse, who has returned to nursing part-time, Cheshire
‘We want to make sure our patients are safe’
I support a nurse’s strike. I think we are already having trouble with prioritising patient care in the NHS at the moment. We have had lots of problems with recruitment and retention, and patient care has already been compromised – and I’m not sure what more we can do. It’s got to a point where this is what we’ve been pushed to. We want to make sure our patients are safe and we want to deliver safe and good care to them. But with current staffing levels, it’s really hard.
We are here for one thing and that’s patient care. That’s why we come to work and do our jobs. That’s our motivation. There’s always the concern of what will happen and how the service will run. But having said that, it’s already compromised.
It’s really hard when you hear interviews with MPs saying we need to go and get a better job. It makes you feel really undervalued. Then these young nurses leave. We just aren’t managing to retain them. [Striking] isn’t something we would ever want to do, it doesn’t come naturally to us but, like other public sector workers, everyone is working harder than ever due to lack of staff and we have a government pushing back at us saying, ‘No, you need to work harder and get a better job’.
Lucy, A&E nurse, Bristol
