Nurses in England have rejected the government’s 5.5% pay rise, the Royal College of Nursing has reported.
RCN members rejected the deal by two-thirds in a record turnout of around 145,000. The payoff was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in late July, shortly after Labour won the general election.
The nurses’ union said the high turnout was higher than the turnout in two legal votes for industrial action the union held in 2022 and 2023, the first of which voted in favor of nursing strikes in six months.
In a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, RCN general secretary Prof Nicola Ranger said: “We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the determination of nurses to stand up for themselves, their patients and the NHS they believe in.
“Many will support the new government’s health and care agenda, as set out in recent weeks, and fully recognise the diagnosis of a failing NHS. Working closely with all other professionals, nursing staff are the lifeblood of the service. The government will see our continued support for the reforms as key to their success.”
Ranger added that raising standards and reforming the NHS required safe numbers of nursing staff who felt valued. “Nursing staff were asked to consider whether, after more than a decade of neglect, they thought the pay was a fair start. This finding shows that their expectations of government are much higher.
“Our members still feel unappreciated and they are looking for urgent action, not rhetorical commitments. Their concerns are about understaffed services, poor patient care and nursing careers stuck in the lowest pay scales – they need to see the government’s reform agenda transforming their profession as a central part of improving care for the public.”
The announcement follows a vote last week by junior doctors to accept a multi-year pay rise to end their long-running dispute. Members of other health unions have accepted the 5.5% pay deal, which runs from 2024-25.
More details coming soon…