Almost half a million NHS staff will hold a strike ballot “immediately” after the government unveiled a “pitiful” real-terms pay cut.
The Royal College of Nursing’s council met last night and “immediately and unanimously decided to ballot our members now”, its chief has revealed.
Teachers are also considering strike action and posties, railway workers and other professions are already striking in a summer of discontent.
It comes after ministers announced as little as a 4% rise for nurses in the NHS - just as CPI inflation hits 9.4% today, the highest in four decades, with RPI inflation even higher.
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, told the BBC it would mean a 5.5% rise from £25,655 to £27,055 for 70% of her nurse members - £27 a week.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That wouldn't even get them a quarter tank of petrol to be able to go and see their patients.
“That's the disdain and contempt that was shown for the nursing profession yesterday.”
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi last night defended below-inflation rises for more than 2.2million public sector workers.
He said the government has a “moral imperative” to keep inflation under control and avoid a wage-price spiral where rising salaries push bills higher.
But Ms Cullen said: “This government has a moral imperative to look after the population of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland”.
The RCN’s membership includes more than 465,000 registered nurses, midwives, health care assistants and nursing students.
She said: “Our ruling council moved last night to a special meeting and immediately and unanimously decided to ballot our members now for industrial action, including strike action.
“That will take its time. We will go through the proper process. We will do it safely and effectively, as I did in Northern Ireland when I led a strike in Northern Ireland.
“And I intend to do the same with my ruling council in England immediately.”
A review body said more than a million NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts, including nurses, paramedics, midwives, porters and admin staff, should get a £1,400 permanent cash rise backdated to April 2022.
This is instead of the usual percentage rise across the board, meaning the percentage rise varies massively depending what you earn.
The government claimed it could be as high as 9.3% for porters and cleaners - or 7.4% excluding a top-up that's already happened.
But the average basic pay for nurses will rise by around 4%, from around £35,600 to around £37,000.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said it was “a kick in the teeth” adding: “The so-called wage offer amounts to a massive national pay cut.
“We expected the inevitable betrayal but the scale of it is an affront."
Even the measly NHS pay rise could lead to cuts - as sources confirmed to the Mirror there will be no extra money from the Treasury.
The Department of Health admitted it is “reprioritising within existing Departmental funding whilst minimising the impact on front line services.”
And the Health Foundation warned failing to fund the pay rise with new money could create a black hole in stretched budgets.
Anita Charlesworth of the Health Foundation, said: "Something has got to give. The very difficult trade-offs that the NHS is already facing will only be exacerbated by the lack of any government funding to cover the cost of this pay award. A further squeeze on the NHS budget is likely to impact patient care and staff working conditions, in turn affecting morale and retention."
