UK Nurses Threaten Strike Action After Rejecting Pay Rise
The UK’s largest nursing union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), has warned the government it could face strike action after members voted to reject a 3.6% pay rise. With more than 170,000 nurses participating in the vote across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the RCN says the proposed increase does little to fix long-standing issues like career stagnation, staff shortages, and years of pay erosion.
General Secretary Nicola Ranger called the result “a verdict on a broken system” and said nurses feel “deeply undervalued.” The union is demanding reforms to the NHS pay structure, which it argues keeps staff stuck at the same band for years, impacting not just fairness but also patient safety. Ministers now have until the end of summer to enter negotiations, or risk a formal dispute and a strike ballot.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it's "disappointing" that nurses rejected the offer but insisted there would be no movement on headline pay. It did, however, promise to work with the union on career progression and working conditions. Nurses last staged walkouts in 2022 and 2023, and if a new strike goes ahead, it would add to mounting pressure on an already stretched NHS.
