Boost our pay or risk strike action, warn nurse leaders
Nursing leaders have warned that if the government in England boosts the salaries of nurses, the government will take legal action. According to a poll of Royal College of Nursing members, 91% did not believe the 3. 6% pay increase this year was enough. However, rather than seeking a larger paycheck, the union is calling for changes in the way the NHS contract works, advising that too many nurses are stuck on the lowest wage bands that do not reflect their skills. If the government does not take action over the summer, the RCN is likely to run an industrial action referendum in the fall. The government expressed disappointment that nurses were dissatisfied with the compensation award, but it was willing to explore the possibility of a wider change of the deal.
The survey attracted more than 170,000 people, representing more than half of the eligible population. It comes after resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, took part in their 12th walkout of a long running wage dispute this week. Following the conclusion of the strike on Wednesday, the British Medical Association and government decided to relaunch talks, but ministers have said they will not negotiate on salary. The RCN cautioned that there was widespread dissatisfaction with the NHS deal, also known as Agenda for Change. Nurses start on band five with a starting salary of just over £31,000 after this year's salary increase. The top of the band's pay increases to nearly £38,000. Nearly half of nurses are on this lowest bandwagon, and study shows that many nurses are struggling to move forward from it. After serving an initial preceptorship term, likely 18 months, the RCN has been pushing for nurses to automatically shift to band six. According to union sources, this could be one way to address the low wage.
'Deeply undervalued'
They said they were not targeting an increase in the salary this year because the government was not willing to revisit the compensation awards that had been awarded by an independent pay review process, which had been insisted by an outside consultant. The RCN called it grotesque
when the salary award was revealed, as doctors were given more. Members in Wales and Northern Ireland also confirmed that the 3. 6% increase was not enough. An 8% salary increase in Scotland has been predicted for two years. My career is greatly undervalued,
RCN general secretary Prof Nicola Ranger said,
disappointingI'm telling the government that wake up, sense the urgency here, and do what's right for them and by patients. This decision has been released by record numbers on a broken system that holds back nursing salaries and careers and hinders the NHS. A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said it was
This administration has made it clear that we can't move any further on headline pay," says the RCN, but we will continue to work with the RCP to address their top issues, including wage structure reform, career advancement, and wider working conditions.that RCN employees were not content with their pay increase, given that it was above inflation. However, she said that ministers were eager to discuss talks.
