A BALLOT of Royal College of Nursing members in Scotland has shown the majority are willing to take part in strike action – with the RCN saying the results are the clearest sign yet that industrial action could take place across the UK later this year.
The number of members voting more than doubled compared to 2021 and would exceed the legal threshold on turnout to allow nursing staff to take industrial action.
In the indicative ballot of RCN members working for the NHS in Scotland over 90% voted to reject the Scottish Government’s pay offer.
It asked members to indicate their willingness to take part in industrial action with a majority voting in favour of taking strike action.
The vote in Scotland was the first NHS ballot the RCN has run this year and the College expects similar high turnouts and results in the rest of the UK.
A statutory ballot will open on 15 September for hundreds of thousands of nursing staff in England and Wales, with Scottish members now being added too.
If members support strike action, as urged by the College, it will be the first ever strike by RCN members in England, Wales or Scotland. RCN members went on strike for the first time in Northern Ireland in 2019.
The College has called for a fully funded pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above inflation, which is currently 11.8%, but pay awards have been well below this.
In Northern Ireland, a formal pay announcement is still awaited.
The College is asking its members to urgently check that it has their up-to-date home addresses and employer details so they are eligible to take part in the postal ballot.
Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: ‘The tide is turning and this is a sign of what’s to come in the rest of the UK. It is the clearest signal yet that industrial action is on the cards this year.
‘I’m talking to nursing staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and they are just as angry and determined as their Scottish counterparts. I am expecting these figures to be replicated at the very least in the next ballots.
‘Nursing staff have been neglected for too long and the workforce crisis ignored.
‘They are seeing the NHS increasingly close to collapse and the safety of their patients put at risk. They are saying enough is enough.
‘A lifetime of service must never mean a lifetime of poverty but – with inflation soaring and after a decade of real-terms pay cuts – there are nursing staff struggling to feed their families, look after their children and keep a roof over their heads.
‘Industrial strike action should always be a last resort but too many nursing staff are leaving the profession because they cannot afford to be a nurse.
‘This is creating staff shortages that are putting patient safety at risk, and the government’s failure to listen has left us with no choice.’
Carol Popplestone, Chair of RCN Council, said: ‘Our members are facing soaring bills and feeling fearful at how they will provide for their family as the cost of living soars.
‘The government has made it extremely difficult to take legal strike action but today’s figures give us confidence we are able to satisfy the legal demands and take the action that is needed.
‘The vote of our members in the upcoming ballot will be essential to turning the tide on low pay.’
Members of the Royal College of Midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) working in the NHS in Scotland have also overwhelmingly rejected the Scottish Government’s pay offer of 5%.
In the highest ever turnout for an RCM pay consultation in Scotland, almost 90 per cent of RCM members who voted have indicated they now wish to be formally balloted on industrial action.
The RCM says the high response rate is a real indication of how members are feeling, particularly as many midwives and maternity staff see any form of industrial action as a last resort.
The RCM has sought to reassure both maternity staff and women and families using maternity services that midwives and MSWs will not take any type of action that would put women or babies at risk.
The College says that, should its members vote for industrial action, they will not ask members to break their code of conduct.
During previous strike action in 2014, the RCM maintained safe services and wish to assure women in using maternity services in Scotland that they can still expect the delivery of good quality care during any potential industrial action.
Commenting, Jaki Lambert, RCM’s Director for Scotland says: ‘Our members have made their feelings clear they want to be balloted on industrial action.
‘Midwives and maternity support workers are feeling undervalued and frankly they have had enough.
‘The Scottish Government’s sub-par pay offer will be the final straw for many members already looking for the door.
‘A 5% pay increase is way below inflation and is actually a real terms pay cut for our hard-working members.
‘With inflation predicted to hit 11% this year and many of our members already struggling with the rising cost of living, they feel they’ve had no other choice but to reject the government’s pay offer.’
A recent RCM survey of midwives in Scotland has already shown seven out of 10 midwives are already considering leaving the NHS.
A staggering half of respondents said they rarely had enough staff to provide safe care for women.
‘We are disappointed that the government did not address any of the crucial issues we laid out in our pay claim. They cannot be surprised that members have reacted in this way.
‘Our members now want to be balloted on industrial action and, as their trade union, that is what we are preparing to do.
‘There is a real disconnect between what maternity services need and what resources are available to them in terms of staffing, role recognition and funding. Decent pay is also central to retaining midwives.
‘It is only through the incredible determination, dedication, professionalism and with midwives often working additional hours for no extra pay, that services are continuing to run.
‘We cannot continue to run maternity services without significant investment and that includes investing in existing staff. Improving retention begins with paying staff what they are worth, a wage that enables them to cope with the rapidly rising cost of living.’
The RCM is set to launch a formal ballot on industrial action with all members working in the NHS in Scotland in the coming weeks.
The postal ballot will ask RCN members working for the NHS in England and Wales, on Agenda for Change contracts, if they will take strike action which involves a complete withdrawal of labour. It will open on Thursday 15 September for four weeks.
The College has increased its industrial action strike fund to £50 million, up from £35 million.
The College’s governing elected Council took this decision to provide financial support towards lost earnings during strike action.
And it has called for a fully funded pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above inflation, which is currently 11.8%.
Last month (July), the government announced a much lower pay award that leaves an experienced nurse over £1,000 worse off in real terms.
It described the recent pay award as ‘a national disgrace’ and says ministers’ refusal to listen to nursing has left it with no choice but to consider industrial action.
- Responding to NHS England’s announcement of a package of measures to boost capacity ahead of winter, RCN Head of Nursing Practice, Wendy Preston, said: ‘Yesterday’s NHS data showed just how desperate things have got across health and social care for patients and nursing staff. Initiatives to improve patient flow and capacity are urgently needed, but the elephant in the room is being ignored.
‘New hospitals and community beds, virtual or real, are just furniture without an adequate nursing workforce to care for patients.
‘Innovation and digital intervention are all useful tools to create more capacity. But without experienced, skilled nursing staff to treat patients, these are just touches around the edges.
‘If the NHS is truly “taking every step possible” to ensure they are prepared for additional pressure, they would be advocating for better pay for all nursing staff.
‘Ministers have failed to address the workforce crisis. This is why we will be asking our members to vote to strike in our upcoming ballot. Our patients deserve better, and the latest pay award was the final insult. Ministers must change course urgently.’
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen, said: ‘Patients deserve better. Nursing staff are trying to deliver the best they can, but safe patient care is being undermined by the workforce crisis across health and social care.
‘Hospitals are full to bursting – with 93% of beds in general and acute care occupied. Combined with a record number of patients waiting more than 12 hours to be admitted, emergency care is close to buckling.
‘One thing worsens the other – if there aren’t appropriate social care packages in place, then medically-fit patients can’t be discharged from hospitals. No free beds means A&E patients can’t be admitted. If patients on trollies are lining the emergency department corridors, then ambulances can’t offload their patients and respond to other 999 calls.
‘Ministers have failed to address the workforce crisis. This is why we will be asking our members to vote to strike in our upcoming ballot. Our patients deserve better and the latest pay award was the final insult. Ministers must change course urgently.’
