royal college of nursing

English nurses stand firm on pay

June 2, 2023 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) mark May Day with another 24-hour stoppage – their third strike this year,

While some employees within the National Health Service accepted a 5 per cent pay offer from the government, nurses belonging to the RCN and junior doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) have vowed to continue their campaign for fairer pay rises.

RCN members had never gone on strike in their 106-year history until last year. The 280,000 members are now poised to vote on whether to escalate the strikes.

If RCN members vote in favour of further strike action, the union will have a mandate by law to conduct strikes for a further six months across the full NHS.

Another NHS union – Unite – also rejected the government’s pay offer.

“It is quite frankly a joke that NHS workers are being forced to fight for a decent pay rise after years of pay freezes and all their sacrifices during the pandemic,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

Unite said “the government is choosing to let the NHS collapse”.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said it was regrettable that strike action had to be taken but that the government needed to improve its pay offer.

“Nursing staff are looking for a fair settlement that shows the government values and understands their profession. We appear a long way from that currently,” she said.

“The government is choosing to let the NHS collapse.” — Unite

British nurses vote for historic national strike

December 16, 2022 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

300,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have voted for a first ever national strike, which is expected to take place before Christmas.

The RCN said the government has failed to address a workforce crisis and that the “exploitation of nursing staff cannot be tolerated any longer”, the Guardian reported.

An analysis by the Nuffield Trust published earlier this year found that 40,365 nurses quit the National Health Service in the year to June 2022 – equivalent to one in nine.

The RCN said that since the Conservative Party took power in 2010, the pay of some experienced nurses has fallen by 20 per cent in real terms. They have called for a pay award rise of 5 per cent plus inflation – a total of about 15 per cent.

Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: “Patients are at great risk when there aren’t enough nurses. Huge numbers of staff – both experienced and newer recruits – are deciding they cannot see a future in a nursing profession that is not valued nor treated fairly.

“Our strike action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses – we have their support in doing this.”

Unison – the other major union in the NHS – is also balloting its 350,000 members, including porters, nurses, paramedics and cleaners, about strike action in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A message of solidarity to UK nurses and midwives

December 15, 2022 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association have sent a letter of support for UK nurses and midwives engaging in strike action on the 15th of December 2022.

Dear Unison, Public and Commercial Services Union, and Royal College of Nursing members,

On the eve of your historical set of strike actions to secure fair pay and safe staffing levels, we send our heartfelt support and solidarity from the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association in Australia.

Your courage is acknowledged and admired from afar, and your Australian nursing and midwifery colleagues support every effort being taken across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We hear you; we see you, and we stand with you in fighting for change. Our members have been fighting your fight; a fight for ratios, for more resources and a fight for a pay rise that reflects the work we do and meets the rising cost of living.

As we know, from taking multiple strike actions across New South Wales this year against an obstinately uncooperative state government, no nurse or midwife ever takes industrial action lightly. It is abhorrent governments continue to disrespect nurses and midwives and take our professions for granted.

Enough is enough. Stand tall for the safety of both those in your care, your colleagues, and your communities. Patient safety is fundamental to quality healthcare and must be a priority.

Safe staffing matters, and you deserve fair wages that recognise your contribution and pay the bills.

Yours sincerely

SHAYE CANDISH

General Secretary

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association

On behalf of NSW nurses and midwives

UK midwives vote to join industry wide strike action

December 1, 2022 by Madeline Lucre Leave a Comment

The British Royal College of Midwives (RCM) members working for the National Health Service (NHS) are currently voting to join their nursing and allied health colleagues in taking strike action.

The RCM is balloting their 30,000 members across the NHS in England and Wales, asking if members are prepared to strike over the UK government’s pay offer and poor staffing levels. The ballot closes on 12 December.

This is the second time midwives in England have voted to strike, and the first time Welsh midwives have voted on taking industrial action in the College’s 142-year history.

RCM members in Scotland have already voted in overwhelming numbers to take industrial action. In a turnout of 61% of eligible voters over 88% voted yes to taking industrial action consisting of a strike. On the question are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike, 94.6% voted yes.

The strike vote follows midwives’ rejection of the UK government’s below inflation pay offer of a 4% increase. The current rate of inflation in the UK is 11.1%, – the highest rate in 41 years.

Dr Suzanne Tyler, the RCM’s Director of Services to Members, criticised the UK government’s wage offer as out of touch.

“It clearly shows that governments do not value the skills, dedication and incredible commitment of midwives and maternity support workers,” Dr Tyler said.

“It also shows that they either do not understand or simply don’t care about the financial pressures facing our members and their NHS colleagues.”

Ms Tyler urged the government in England and Wales to do more “to retain staff and bring in others into the NHS” noting that a “meaningful pay offer and urgent retention package is a good place to start.”

The RCM has reassured the public and staff that a strike would not prevent the safe delivery of service and that any industrial action taken “would not put women or babies at risk.”

Last week the Royal College of Nursing reported they had secured a mandate from their members to go strike, with the majority of NHS nurses across all employers voting in favour taking strike action.

The trade union Unison Healthcare, with workers including nurses, is also in the process of balloting members about possible strike action over pay.

UK nurses vote on taking first strike action in 106 years

October 10, 2022 by Rayan Calimlim Leave a Comment

The United Kingdom’s Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is balloting over 300,000 of its members working in the country’s National Health Service (NHS) about taking strike action for the first time in College’s 106 year history.

The ballot is in protest against a proposed pay increase of 5%, which is less than half of the current British inflation rate of 10.1%.

While government ministers have indicated that the proposed pay rise constitutes a salary increase of £1,400 per annum for frontline workers, the College has argued that the proposal does not keep up with the ever-climbing cost of living crisis biting British households.

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, has indicated that pay rises above inflation are needed to stem ongoing staffing shortages in the NHS.

“We are understaffed, undervalued and underpaid,” she said. “This is a once in a generation chance to improve your pay and combat the staff shortages that put patients at risk.”

“Governments have repeatedly neglected the NHS and the value of nursing. We can change this if together we say ‘enough is enough’.”

The Guardian has reported that nurses working in the NHS have resorted to skipping meals or taking second jobs to make ends meet. Others have simply left the NHS to work higher paying jobs in other industries.

“[The Government] needs to give [nurses] a decent wage so they can look after their families, pay their bills,” Cullen argued.

“We’re just asking for a decent wage for our nursing staff so they can continue to do the brilliant job they do everyday for their patients, and so that we can absolutely retain the staff that we’ve got.”

The RCN has indicated that life-preserving care will continue to be provided in the event that strike action proceeds.

The ballot closes 2 November (GMT).

British nurses and midwives quitting profession in droves

May 25, 2022 by Rayan Calimlim Leave a Comment

Figures released by the British Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has found a 13% rise in the numbers of nurses and midwives leaving the profession over the past year.

The latest annual data from the NMC revealed a total of 27,133 nurses and midwives made the decision to exit the profession between April 2021 and March 2022.

Of the reasons provided for the exodus, the most common were: retirement, “personal circumstances”, too much pressure at work, negative workplace culture and plans to leave the UK entirely.

Publishing the data, Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Executive and Registrar at the NMC, warned those who left “shared troubling stories about the pressure they’ve had to bear during the pandemic”.

In responding to the alarming data, the Royal College of Nursing General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen said that the loss “is being felt profoundly by both patients and nurses alike”.

“When we have tens of thousands of vacant nurse jobs, a sharp rise in leavers should not be overlooked while we welcome new recruits. Ministers should avoid overclaiming today – nursing staff tell us these shortages are biting more than ever.

“With an imminent government decision on NHS pay and the pay review body reports due this month, these figures are a reminder of the scale of the challenge and why radical action is needed to boost the nursing workforce”.

The College has called for a sustainable workforce plan to be implemented urgently by the British government to stem the tide of nurses and midwives leaving.