Nurses' strike: Why NHS is on brink of first UK walkout

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - which represents hundreds of thousands of nurses successful the UK - is acceptable to denote the results of its onslaught ballot connected Wednesday.

It is wide expected that the members volition person voted for a walkout.

If that happens, it volition beryllium the archetypal UK-wide onslaught by the national successful its 106-year history.

The RCN had called for a emergence of 5% supra the RPI ostentation rate, which presently stands astatine supra 12%, but nary UK federation has offered adjacent to that.

In England and Wales, NHS unit - including nurses - person been fixed an mean of 4.75% more. The lowest paid were guaranteed a emergence of astatine slightest £1,400.

In Scotland, 5% was initially offered to NHS staff, but that has been changed to a level complaint of conscionable implicit £2,200, which works retired astatine conscionable implicit 8% for a recently qualified nurse.

In Northern Ireland, nurses are yet to person a wage grant due to the fact that determination is nary moving government.

During the ballot, the RCN had argued this year's below-inflation wage grant came aft years of squeezes connected nurses' salaries.

This national says mean wage fell by 6% betwixt 2011 and 2021 for nurses - erstwhile ostentation was taken into relationship - compared with a 4.6% driblet for full UK workforce.

The RCN says this is compromising attraction arsenic the NHS is struggling to pull and clasp nurses.

But the authorities successful England has pointed retired this year's wage grant is successful enactment with what the autarkic NHS Pay Review Body recommended and comes aft NHS unit got a 3% emergence past twelvemonth successful designation of their enactment during the pandemic portion the remainder of the nationalist assemblage had a wage freeze.

The onslaught ballot has been sent to 300,000 RCN members - representing astir three-quarters of the caregiver workforce.

The starting wage for a caregiver is England is conscionable implicit £27,000 a year. This is the bottommost of wage set 5 of the NHS contract, known arsenic Agenda for Change.

Staff specified arsenic healthcare assistants, porters and cleaners are connected little wage bands.

As portion of the declaration unit are entitled to in-the-job wage increases wrong their wage band.

A caregiver with 4 years' acquisition would beryllium expected to get adjacent to £33,000 - the apical extremity of wage set five.

Specialist nurses, specified arsenic those with other qualifications to dainty crab and diabetes patients, tin get up to £47,000, portion the astir elder caregiver consultants tin get up to astir £55,000.

The RCN said the mean wage for a full-time established caregiver was conscionable supra £32,000 past twelvemonth - akin to mean wage crossed the economy.

The ballot is not a nationalist vote. Instead a bid of mini ballots person been tally successful section services, specified arsenic crossed a infirmary spot oregon assemblage service, but not GP practices.

This means you could extremity up with idiosyncratic hospitals oregon assemblage services successful 1 country not taking part, portion nurses successful the bulk of different services inactive locomotion out.

Once the effect is known - and astatine the play RCN sources made wide they were assured that galore areas of the UK had voted to spell connected onslaught - a determination volition past request to beryllium made erstwhile to instrumentality onslaught enactment and what signifier that should take.

It is expected that the archetypal walkout volition beryllium earlier Christmas - successful Northern Ireland it has to commencement wrong 1 period of the ballot closing.

Two weeks' announcement of a onslaught taking spot indispensable beryllium given.

The RCN says it is committed to ensuring exigency and urgent attraction tin beryllium kept moving during a strike.

This is done a strategy known arsenic derogation whereby national members hold to enactment to support a work running.

For services specified arsenic intensive attraction determination volition beryllium a implicit derogation - each nursing unit volition beryllium expected to work.

Other services, specified arsenic crab attraction and urgent testing, whitethorn besides beryllium staffed to immoderate extent.

Much of this volition beryllium negotiated individually by work managers and national reps.

It is besides imaginable that nurses volition beryllium pulled disconnected picket lines to enactment if determination is interest astir information during a strike.

This was seen during the 2019 walkout successful Northern Ireland by RCN members - the lone different clip the national has been progressive successful onslaught action.

Routine services, including planned operations specified arsenic genu and hep replacements, assemblage nursing services and wellness visiting is expected to beryllium among the worst hit.