Nurses will start voting next month on whether to strike over pay in what is being described as 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 postal ballot will ask RCN members working for the NHS in Wales and England 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.
If its members support strike action, it will be the first ever strike by RCN members in both countries. The college went on strike for the first time in its history in Northern Ireland in 2019.
Read more: What the £1,400 NHS pay rise means for nurses, midwives, cleaners, porters and other staff
The RCN also announced it has increased its industrial action strike fund to £50m, up from £35m, to provide financial support towards lost earnings during strikes. The college has called for a pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above RPI inflation, which is currently 11.8%.
Last month Wales' Health Minister Eluned Morgan confirmed that all NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts - including nurses, cleaners, porters, healthcare support workers and healthcare professionals - will get a £1,400 pay rise on most pay grades. The RCN said this leaves an experienced nurse over £1,000 worse off in real terms.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that UK inflation, the rate at which prices rise, currently stands at 9.4% and is predicted to reach 11% by the autumn. Unison also confirmed last month that its own members would be balloted over strike action.
Helen Whyley, director of RCN Wales, said: "The college doesn't take this lightly. Industrial action should always be a last resort. Our members are telling us that the cost of living is making them seriously reconsider staying in a profession that they love.
"In addition, we are the middle of a nurse staffing shortage in Wales which is putting patients at risk and adding pressure to an already overworked and overstretched nursing profession. Nursing staff are exhausted, yet they continue to go above and beyond, providing the best care they can for their patients, every single day. Without the incredible work of nursing staff, patients wouldn’t get the care they need. The time for talk is over."
Richard Jones MBE, RCN Wales Board Chair, said: "To say that this pay award is well below our expectations is an understatement. This does absolutely nothing to recruit and retain nursing professionals. How can the Welsh Government say that they value nursing when we have members living on the poverty line? It’s not acceptable. I’ve been a nurse for more than 50 years and I’ve never seen it this bad.
"The writing is on the wall. We have repeatedly asked our government to address staff shortages, fair pay, flexible working conditions and continuing professional development. Enough is enough."
A recent survey found that 85% of the public in Wales support a pay rise for nursing staff. 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.
Last month Health Minister Eluned Morgan also agreed the recommendations of the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB) to increase pay by 4.5% for junior doctors, consultants, GPs and dentists employed directly by health boards.
British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru Wales Council Chair, Dr David Bailey said: "This award amounts to nothing more than a pay cut, and it comes at a time when doctors have endured years of below inflation pay rises and are being driven out of the NHS due to perverse, punitive pension rules. The timing of this pay cut could not be worse. Doctors have gone above and beyond throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to care for patients, putting themselves and their families’ lives at risk in the process.
"On top of that, they are working in an under-staffed, under-funded service and are now expected to deal with the longest waiting lists on record while paying the price for their commitment during the last two years, with high levels of exhaustion and burnout. It is easy to see why doctors are leaving the NHS at an alarming rate."
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