‘It’s about survival’ - Nurses in Merseyside and UK vote today in first ever RCN strike ballot on pay

The world’s largest nursing trade union is asking its 300,000 members to support industrial strike action across the country.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will ballot members working for the NHS in England and Wales, on Agenda for Change contracts, on strike action which involves a complete withdrawal of labour.

The postal ballot begins today and will close on November 2.

The RCN are calling for a fully funded pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above inflation, which is currently 10.1%.

According to analysis by London Economics, pay for NHS nurses has declined at twice the rate of those in the private sector, over the last decade, with their real-terms earnings falling by 6%.

An emergency department (ED) nurse at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, who wanted to remain anonymous, told LiverpoolWorld: “I think a strike is necessary to show how needed and important nurses are, and to fight for the pay we deserve.”

Merseyside nurses urged to strike

In the latest RCN report for the North West, figures showed that Merseyside was facing extreme staff shortages and dissatisfaction.

Pay was a leading cause for dissatisfaction, as the UK faces a cost of living crisis and the highest rate of inflation in fourty years.

Recent research suggests that the cost of living crisis will affect five of Merseyside’s constituencies harder than elsewhere in the country and many nurses are relying on food banks.

A concerned Merseyside ED nurse added: “Everyone in my department works incredibly hard to make sure we give the best quality of care possible and our pay doesn’t reflect that.

“I work long night shifts and look after incredibly ill patients and worked through the worst of the pandemic. The cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, we need to be well ourselves so we can do our jobs properly.”

Why are RCN calling for a strike?

In July, the Government announced a much lower pay award, which the RCN say leaves an experienced nurse over £1,000 worse off in real terms.

Describing the pay award as “a national disgrace,” the union says ministers’ refusal to listen to nursing has left it with no choice but to consider industrial action.

A recent national survey of RCN members found 83% of respondents said staffing levels on their last shift were not sufficient to meet the needs of patients and in the last year, 25,000 NHS nurses have left their jobs.

Estephanie Dunn, Regional Director for RCN North-West, told LiverpoolWorld: “Nurses aren’t after a huge pay rise. This is not about greed, it’s about survival.

“It’s over ten years since nurses have had a pay rise equating to the cost of living and it has become normal for nursing staff to use food banks, along with other public sector workers.

“Healthcare workers were called heroes and clapped for and now feel as if they have been discarded.”

She added: “If nursing pay falls further and further behind the rate of inflation, the ability to recruit and retain nurses falls further and puts service users at risk.”

According to the latest figures, only 10.9% of nurses in Merseyside believe there are enough staff for them to do their job properly.

Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: “Staff shortages are putting patient safety at risk and the government’s failure to listen has left us with no choice but to advocate for strike action.

“A lifetime of service must never mean a lifetime of poverty. Ministers refusal to recognise the skill and responsibility of the job is pushing people out of the profession. The next prime minister must change course urgently.”

If its members support strike action, it will be the first ever strike by RCN members in England or Wales. The nursing union went on strike for the first time in its history in Northern Ireland in 2019.

The RCN has increased its industrial action strike fund to £50 million, up from £35 million, a defining decision aiming to provide financial support towards lost earnings during strike action.

Letter to Prime Minister Liz Truss

The Royal College of Nursing are also asking the public to sign an open letter to the Prime Minister, asking her to protect nursing and the NHS.

The powerful letter states, ‘Unfair pay is forcing too many to leave. Over 25,000 nurses left last year alone. Without nursing staff, there will be no NHS.’