'Defining' moment as nurses will start voting next month on whether to strike over pay

Nurses will start voting next month on whether to strike over pay in what is being described as a “defining moment” for the profession. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said it will be recommending hundreds of thousands of its members support industrial action in a ballot that opens in mid-September.

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 September 15 for four weeks.

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

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The RCN also announced it has increased its industrial action strike fund to £50 million, up from £35 million, to provide financial support towards lost earnings during strikes. The college has called for a pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above RPI inflation, which is currently 11.8%.

Last month the government announced a pay award the RCN said leaves an experienced nurse more than £1,000 worse off in real terms, describing it as “a national disgrace”. RCN officials said industrial strike action was a last resort, but the current NHS staffing crisis was causing “unacceptable risk” to patients and staff.

A formal pay announcement is still awaited in Northern Ireland, while in Scotland the college has urged its members to reject a 5% pay offer from the Scottish government. Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary, said: “Nursing staff will stop at nothing to protect their patients.

“Staff