Nurses have voted to go on strike across the UK for the first time in the Royal College of Nursing’s history. The union announced on Wednesday that nurses at many hospitals and other places of NHS care would take industrial action in the run-up to Christmas over pay. The RCN has said nursing staff will continue to provide emergency care during the strikes.
The move comes after the government refused to increase its offer of at least a £1,400 pay rise to about 1 million people working in the health service in England. The offer represents a 4.5% to 5% rise, while inflation has soared to 10.1%.
Four nurses in across the UK share their views on taking industrial action.
‘The only option is to withdraw labour’
Mental health nurse, 36, Liverpool
“The state of pay in the NHS has become frankly laughable. Despite the risks and casualties from the pandemic, the government seems to be taking the goodwill of my colleagues for granted. They’re simply not listening, and with the buying power of each hard-earned pound diminishing, it seems like the only option is to withdraw labour. I’m not just wanting a pay rise for nurses, I want an equitable and inflation-busting pay rise for all colleagues [regardless of] their profession and pay grade.
“The 5% pay rise is not enough to maintain a standard of living. We shouldn’t have to take on extra work. I’m worried about the impact on the already dubious quality of care patients are receiving, with the cuts to services in the last decade. Even working to rule is hard to justify to yourself when you’re used to eating while doing paperwork, putting off bathroom breaks to complete jobs, and leaving late almost every day because you can’t let your patients down and don’t want to burden already overstretched night staff.”
‘We’re been severely underpaid for years’
Staff nurse, 38, Glasgow
“I’m really pleased the strike is going ahead. Nurses have been severely underpaid for years. Those who complain we are well paid should come and spend time on the ward and see if they still agree. I don’t think it’s badly paid but our wages just do not reflect how hard we work, the stress of the job, the demands on our time, the level of responsibility for patients’ lives.
“I would accept that while it is not a badly paid job, it is poorly paid for what it is, as reflected by the thousands and thousands of vacancies in the NHS. Nurses’ pay needs to be completely reassessed as it is not in accordance with the level of responsibility and duties the job requires. Patients are sicker, nurses have had more responsibilities assigned to them since pay bands were first developed, and they are not in step.
“If any other role was under the pressure we are under, they would have taken action a long time ago. I believe it’s because we’re predominantly a female service, we’re expected to just take it. We’ve collectively had enough.”
‘I don’t believe in nurses going on strike’
Elderly care nurse, 52, Lincoln
“I don’t support the strike. I specifically joined the RCN when I qualified as it was the only union that didn’t strike. I do not believe in nurses going on strike, we are there to provide care for patients. I can’t think of anything worse for patients than having to risk operations being cancelled due to staffing issues due to people outside hospitals striking.
“We know nurses have been poorly paid for years, but the unions should be there to find alternative methods to striking. I will be leaving the RCN – I’m not happy. There have to be better ways to bring issues to the fore than putting more patients at risk. Emergency care will be prioritised, but what about elderly people kept in hospital who aren’t even getting the care they need at the minute?
“There are now so many issues that are making working as a nurse less appealing. If I had my time round again I would not choose nursing, which is heartbreaking. It is a career I have loved but it has almost broken me.”
‘Nurses are striking for patients’
Senior nurse, 53, Durham
“I absolutely support it. Nurses are striking for their patients – they are unable to safely care and it creates a horrendous moral distress for us. Further, the pay is just cruel for the work and study involved. They have negotiated in good faith for years and have been ignored. They really are left with no other option.
“Countries who pay nurses properly have far less burnout and vacancy rates. People rely on nurses every single day – it’s astounding they are treated as dispensable.
“The pay offer is not matching inflation and so is not really a rise. The profession who are at the side of our sickest citizens, who bring people into the world and carry them out again, and who walk beside the most marginalised and the distressed, are going to food banks to survive. It’s shameful.”
