'Deeply undervalued': Nurses threaten industrial action ballot after pay offer rejected
The Royal College of Nursing is threatening industrial action if a deal is not met, as ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry reports
Nurses in England could be balloted on industrial action if the government does not reach agreement on investment in the workforce over the summer, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned.
It comes as nurses overwhelmingly voted to a reject a 3.6% pay offer.
The RCN said nurses are "deeply undervalued" and the pay award was "not enough" to reverse widespread vacancies, stunted career progression and years of pay erosion.
They are now urging the government to negotiate reforms on the "outdated pay structure" to avoid formal escalation.
It follows a five-day walkout by thousands of resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, which came to an end on Wednesday.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the government “hugely” values the work of nurses, but stressed the profession has had “two above-inflation pay rises”.
However, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: “My profession feels deeply undervalued and that is why record numbers are telling the government to wake up, sense the urgency here and do what’s right by them and by patients.
"Record numbers have delivered this verdict on a broken system that holds back nursing pay and careers and hampers the NHS."
Prof Ranger continued: “We deliver the vast majority of care in every service and deserve to be valued for all our skill, knowledge and experience.
“To avoid formal escalation, the Government must be true to its word and negotiate on reforms of the outdated pay structure which traps nursing staff at the same band their entire career.”
A record-breaking number of 170,000 staff voted on the pay award, with 91% voting to reject it, the RCN said.
Nurses in Wales and Northern Ireland were consulted on the same pay award and voted to reject it, according to the RCN.
A DHSC spokesperson said: “After receiving two above-inflation pay rises from this government, new full-time nurses will earn £30,000 in basic pay for the first time this year, so it’s disappointing that RCN members are dissatisfied with this year’s pay rise.
“We hugely value the work of nurses, and through our ten year health plan, we are rebuilding the NHS for the benefit of patients and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice.
“This government is clear we can’t move any further on headline pay but will work with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns on career progression and wider working conditions.”
Nurses staged unprecedented industrial action over pay in 2022 and 2023.
In June 2023, the threat of more strikes ended because a ballot on further walkouts failed to meet the legal threshold of 50%.
The RCN warning over a potential ballot for industrial action follows a five-day walkout by resident doctors in England.
Health secretary Wes Streeting has since written to the British Medical Association (BMA) saying he is willing to meet the union’s resident doctors committee to resume talks.
However, he warned that resident doctors have squandered the “considerable goodwill” they had with government after the strike.
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