Stand up now and demand change

Are you eligible to vote in the RCN’s strike ballot? 

If so, have you completed your ballot paper and returned it in the post yet? 

If not, there is still time. We’re two weeks in but there are still two weeks to go.

Your completed ballot paper must with Civica by 12 midday on 2 November for your vote to be counted. 

Arguably, this is the most important ballot in the RCN’s history. Decades of austerity and below inflation pay increases have led to record numbers of staff leaving the NHS. It feels like the stakes get higher with each passing week. 

Thousands of nursing vacancies remain unfilled, yet our warnings have been ignored for years. To us, these figures are not just numbers in the news – to us, these are our colleagues and friends, either too burned out, or simply unable to afford to stay in the profession they love. 

Understaffing and poor skill mix have become the norm and left us unable to provide safe and effective care. The impact of this has long moved from missed breaks and leaving late after shifts, to toxic levels of stress, moral injury and an all-time low in staff morale. Nursing shortages cost lives.

This staffing crisis has been compounded by an alarming rise in the cost-of-living pushing many of us into financial hardship. 

It really feels like this is our last chance. If we fail to stand up now and demand change from our governments, there will be no NHS left as we know it. 

The RCN’s Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is giving us that collective voice we need to shout – enough is enough.

But the crucial thing is we actually need to vote. 

Whatever your view about taking strike action, it is imperative that each and every eligible member takes individual responsibility, completes their ballot paper and returns it in the post by the closing deadline. It must be received by Civica by 12 midday on Wednesday 2 November. 

If we are to achieve meaningful and lasting change, each and every one of us eligible to vote must  take the opportunity and make our opinion known.

The RCN is recommending eligible members vote ‘yes’ to strike action in the current ballot. Yes, it’s a sad state of affairs that it has had to come to this. And yes, withdrawing our labour remains the last resort. Whatever your view, it is a disappointing and daunting place to find ourselves. 

I passionately believe that voting ‘yes’ will give our elected RCN representatives and RCN staff the clear mandate that the Scottish government must listen to. I urge you to use your vote to protect the future of nursing.

> Find out more about the ballot on our Fair Pay for Nursing page