NHS nurses will start voting within weeks whether to go on strike in what their main trade union says is a “defining moment” for the profession.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said it will be recommending hundreds of thousands of its members support industrial action in a ballot that opens in mid-September.
The nursing union has been more hardline on pay than other trade unions representing NHS workers and is considered most likely to go on strike.
The college has called for a pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above RPI inflation, which is currently 11.8%.
If its members support strike action, it will be the first ever strike by RCN members in England or Wales.
The RCN also announced it has increased its industrial action strike fund to £50 million, up from £35 million, to provide financial support towards lost earnings during strikes.
Last month the Government announced a 4.75% NHS pay award which the RCN said leaves an experienced nurse more than £1,000 worse off in real terms, describing it as “a national disgrace”.
Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary, said: “Nursing staff will stop at nothing to protect their patients.
“Staff shortages are putting patient safety at risk and the Government’s failure to listen has left us with no choice but to advocate for strike action.
“A lifetime of service must never mean a lifetime of poverty. Ministers’ refusal to recognise the skill and responsibility of the job is pushing people out of the profession.
“The next prime minister must change course urgently.”
The RCN is the world’s largest nursing trade union and professional body.
It represents almost half a million nurses, midwives, health care assistants (HCAs), assistant practitioners (APs) and nursing students.
The postal ballot will ask RCN members working for the NHS in England and Wales on Agenda for Change contracts if they will take strike action which involves a complete withdrawal of labour.
It will open on Thursday September 15 for four weeks.
RCN officials said industrial strike action was a last resort, but the current NHS staffing crisis was causing “unacceptable risk” to patients and staff.
Carol Popplestone, who chairs the RCN Council, said in a message to members: “After years of underpayment and staff shortages, the fight for fair pay must strengthen.
“This year’s pay award does not help you with the rising cost of living. It will do nothing to help to recruit or retain more nursing staff where you work and will not keep patients safe.”
A formal pay announcement is still awaited in Northern Ireland, while in Scotland the college has urged its members to reject a 5% pay offer from the Scottish government.
The RCN went on strike for the first time in its history in Northern Ireland in 2019.
