Nurses will stage walkouts this week across a bigger number of hospitals, as the battle between the Royal College of Nursing and the UK government escalates.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for a rise of 5% above inflation, which is sitting at 12.6 per cent, after the college revealed real terms pay has fallen by 20% since 2010.
The strike action on January 18 and 19 will take place at 55 trusts across England - a 25 per cent increase from the 44 trusts that participated in strikes on December 15 and 20.
It comes as the RCN has this week announced two further strike dates next month, following hour-long talks on Monday which the college branded “bitterly disappointing”.
This industrial action will be held for 12 hours on both February 6 and 7 in England and Wales at 73 NHS trusts.
With the strike deadlock not looking likely to break anytime soon, we’ve looked at what nurses earn and how this compares with other professions.
What do nurses earn in the NHS?
The average nurse in England, Wales and Northern Ireland earns £34,671, according to figures in the 2022 NHS Pay Review Body.
Data shows that average total earnings for the category of NHS staff grew by 3.4 per cent in 2020-21.
NHS nursing salaries are banded, with a scale of possible pay increases within this band until it is capped. At this point, an employee would have to apply for another role within the next band in order to earn more.
The starting salary for a newly qualified Band 5 nurse is £27,055 a year - nearly £6,000 below the £33,000 average UK salary for a full-time worker.
Around two thirds (67%) of nurses are on Band 5.
The highest Band 5 salary is £32,934 but it can take a nurse up to 15 years to earn that amount. Nurses in Band 6 start at £33,706, rising to £41,659 for Band 7, £48,526 for Band 8a and £95,135 for Band 9.
Average nurses’ pay in the UK compares poorly with most other European countries, with their counterparts in Belgium earning £53,650, the Netherlands £43,580, Iceland £40,650 and Germany £37,980.
The RCN said that once national insurance and pension contributions were taken into account a Band 5 nurse with seven year’s experience would have taken home £400 less in 2022 than in 2021.
Figures released late last year showed average public sector pay grew by 2.7% between August to October 2022 compared to 6.9% in the private sector.
How does this compare with other professions?
The average full-time worker in the UK earned £33,000 for the tax year ending April 5 2022, data crunched by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
This was up 5.7 per cent on the previous year.
The median annual salary for an NHS nurse is just below the average earnings of an Amazon warehouse worker, who according to hiring site UK Talent earns £34,369 each year.
Entry level positions at the world’s largest online retailer start at £28,017 while more experienced workers can make up to £37,830.
Meanwhile, according to jobs website Glassdoor the average annual salary for a Tesco checkout operator is £20,606.
In April 2022 the company announced it was increasing pay for hourly staff to £10.10. When calculated for an annual salary, this equated to around £18,400.
The government’s National Careers Service website states the starting salary for a bin worker, removing waste and recycling from homes and businesses, is £17,000.
The maximum salary was £25,000.
A starting salary for a classroom teacher outside London is £28,000, whereas for those who work in London are paid more to a maximum of £34,502 in inner London.
A classroom teacher can earn anything from this starting wage up to £43,685, taking into account a pay award announced late last year for teachers in England going into 2023.
The most recent estimate by online recruitment firm Reed of the average train driver salary across the UK is £48,500.
Drivers can expect to begin with an average starting salary of £30,000, with top salaries often exceeding £65,000.
Salaries can differ between commercial and freight roles.
Teachers salaries across the UK, like nurses salaries, are banded with employees allocated to different bands based on position, experience and location.
Figures from Reed place the average salary for a solicitor at £47,021.
The lower end of the pay spectrum for the average solicitor’s salary was £38,054 and earners at the top end could receive up to £65,342.
The 2022 NHS Pay Review Body includes oral evidence from unions Unison and Unite highlighting the NHS’ difficulty to retain staff.
The NHS was losing Band 2 staff, which included roles such as domestic support worker and healthcare assistant, to competitors such as Asda, Tesco and IKEA, it said.
Why are nurses striking?
Pat Cullen, the RCN's general secretary, said on Monday: “It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking this week and again in three weeks. Rather than negotiate, Rishi Sunak has chosen strike action again.
“We are doing this in a desperate bid to get him and ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfiled jobs – patient care is suffering like never before."
The Royal College of Nursing says many of its members have seen pay fall by 20% in real terms since 2010.
A survey of hospital bosses by NHS Providers in September revealed that 27% had set up food banks to support nurses.
Last summer we reported on growing numbers of NHS staff selling back their days off in a desperate bid to make ends meet.
Nursing vacancies are at a record high, meaning staff are stretched and regularly working beyond the end of their shifts.
The Mirror reported in November that the NHS had lost nearly 40,000 nurses in 12 months, despite 46,800 vacancies which needed filling, 7,000 up on last year.
Latest figures suggest there are now more than 47,000 unfilled NHS nursing roles across the UK.
Nursing student numbers are also falling with latest UCAS figures showing a 7% drop in applicants accepted into nursing courses compared with the previous year.
What are nurses demanding?
The RCN previously demanded a 19% pay rise but earlier this month Ms Cullen said nurses could be ready to accept a 10% increase if Tory ministers finally open pay talks.
Currently NHS staff including nurses are being offered just a 4.75% average pay rise in 2022/23.
All the other NHS unions have used more careful language without naming a specific figure. Some are cross the RCN gave the government a so-called “stick to beat them with”.
But they all broadly agree the 4.75% is too low and 2022/23 talks must be reopened.
Unions are also demanding various assurances over poor staffing and torrid working conditions in the NHS.
What is the government offering?
Tory ministers talk about staffing but have refused to reopen talks on the 4.75% pay offer in 2022/23, claiming it’s final.
Instead they want to plough on with talks on 2023/24 pay, from April this year.
But unions believe the government line has softened slightly in the last few days.
The Mirror understands Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering two suggestions from unions.
The first is a one-off payment to NHS staff this winter, to recognise their cost of living pressures.
The second idea is backdating their 2023/24 pay rise - which would normally begin in Spring - by three months so it begins in January 2023.
This would basically raise pay in 2022/23, but allow the government to claim victory.
Yet no actual offer was made in hour-long talks on Monday, which the Royal College of Nursing branded “bitterly disappointing”.
A Unite rep said it was not "any clearer" from the talks whether there would be a one-off payment for 2022/23, as there had been "mixed messages" from the government.
A one-off payment or backdated pay would not achieve the unions’ main goal of reopening pay talks for 2022/23.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has suggested nurses would only get better pay if “productivity” improves in the NHS, freeing up the cash.
