NHS nurses demand 'several thousand pounds' in pay rise to stop more strikes
Nurses are demanding a “several thousands pounds” extra pay this year amid speculation they could be back on strike as early as the spring.
The RCN now makes its formal submission to the NHS Pay Review Body for 2024/25 at the beginning of a five-day strike by junior doctors. The Mirror can reveal the Royal College of Nursing’s key demands of a lump sum on top of a “substantial” above inflation pay rise to tackle the NHS workforce crisis.
Nurses were left furious after they received around half the pay subsequently offered to doctors last year. Their 5% NHS pay rise was rejected in an RCN ballot but the below-inflation award for the 2023/24 financial year was imposed by the Government.
It followed a series of strikes by nurses last year but a second RCN ballot for a mandate to continue strikes did not meet the 50% turnout threshold required by law. The demands comes as the Tories refuse to negotiate with striking doctors and increase the prospect of crippling NHS strikes escalating throughout the General Election year while the health service struggles with record waiting times.
Professor Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary, said: “The crisis in the nursing workforce deepens each day as thousands of experienced staff decide to leave the NHS, fed up with being undervalued and underpaid. The lesson for the government and politicians everywhere is that failing to deliver pay justice for nursing staff has consequences. Only decisive action can now help stem the loss of staff and protect patients.”
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
The 5% pay rise the bulk of the NHS workforce was forced to accept last year left the RCN leadership bruised. The British Medical Association maintained support among its junior doctor and consultant members for strike action of the pay for 2023/24. Junior doctors start a strike at 7am on Saturday until the end of Wednesday.
Junior doctors have been offered a 3% rise on top of the average 8.8% increase they were given in the summer. The BMA remains on strike arguing that junior doctors want a commitment - over a number of years - to increase pay by 26% to return it to the same real terms pay rates from 2008. A similar deal has been granted to doctors in Scotland by the devolved government there.
Consultants also remain in industrial dispute with the Government after rejecting a deal that would have given them an extra 4.95% pay rise on average for the last three months of 2023/24 financial year on top of the 6% award for the year that they have already received.
Nurses remain technically in dispute with the Government but would need a fresh ballot to gain a mandate for more strikes. The RCN says recent research among its members “demonstrated a strong appetite amongst members to take industrial action if required”. The RCN insists only a bumper above-inflation pay deal will stem the exodus of its senior staff from the NHS. In England 42,000 nursing posts are currently unfilled.
Prof Cullen said: “When nursing professionals with the greatest clinical experience leave the profession, patient care ultimately suffers. An additional top-up payment worth several thousand pounds would recognise the crisis gripping the nursing workforce. It is a quick and effective measure that can alleviate some of the dissatisfaction with pay, terms and conditions felt by staff after years of neglect. The policy is a no-brainer for ministers.”
The RCN is also calling on the PRB to recommend measures including automatic progression from band 5 to band 6 that is already available to other NHS workers, to create better long-term career prospects for the nursing workforce. In its formal submission the RCN confirmed it remains in dispute with Government.
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