Nearly half a million NHS staff will hold a strike ballot 'immediately' following the governments unveiling of a 'pitiful' real-terms pay cut.
Last night, the Royal College of Nursing's council met and 'immediately and unanimously' decided to ballot their members, its chief has revealed. This news comes as teachers across the United Kingdom are also considering strike action, with posties, railway workers and other professions already holding walkouts over pay and working conditions this summer.
The Mirror reports that ministers recently announced a 4 per cent pay rise for nurses in the NHS, while CIP inflation today hits 9.4 per cent - the highest in 40 years, with RPI inflation exceeding higher still. Pat Cullen, who is the general secretary of the RCN, told the BBC it would mean a 5.5 per cent rise from £25,655 to £27,055 for 70 per cent of her nurse members - which equates to around £27 a week.
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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, saying that the government has a “moral imperative” to keep inflation under control - avoiding a wage-price spiral where rising salaries push bills even 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 reviewing body said that more than a million NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts should get a £1,400 permanent cash rise, to be backdate to April this year - instead of the usual percentage rise across the board. This is because the percentage rise would vary depending on what staff earn.
The government claimed it could be as high as 9.3 per cent for porters and cleaners - or 7.4 per cent when excluding the top-up that's already happened. But the average basic pay for nurses will rise by around 4 per cent, 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 has warned that failing to fund the pay rise with new money, could well create a black hole in already 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."
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