Responding to the Government’s announcement of this year’s NHS pay award, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:
“This is a grave misstep by ministers. With this low award, the government is misjudging the mood of nursing staff and the public too.
“There are tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs and today ministers have taken the NHS even further from safe patient care.
“Living costs are rising and yet they have enforced another real-terms pay cut on nursing staff. It will push more nurses and nursing support workers out of the profession.
“Our members will vote and tell us what they want to do next. We are grateful for the growing public support, including over strike action.
“The award must be fully funded with additional money. There can be no question of money being taken out of existing NHS budgets.”
Chair of RCN Council, Carol Popplestone, said:
“Our members are being failed by government and we will not stand for it. Today’s pay announcement makes it harder, not easier, for them to cope with the rising cost of living.
“It won’t do anything to recruit or retain the nursing staff our NHS desperately needs. It doesn’t recognise the skill and responsibility of the job we do. It won’t keep patients safe.
“Your elected Council will listen as much as lead in the months to come. We need to hear from you all – how this decision makes you feel and what you want to do as a result.”
Ends
Notes to editors
The Retail Price Index is currently standing at 11.7%: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czbh/mm23
Polling for the RCN has shown a sharp rise in public support for nursing staff taking industrial action in their fight for fair pay in recent weeks. Research carried out by YouGov for the RCN shows:
- In May, 42% of the respondents said they were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ likely to support nurses taking industrial action over their pay. That figure has now risen to almost half (49%). (Total sample size was 1,504 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 30th April - 2nd May 2022.)
- The more recent poll also showed that four out of five people (86%) in England support a pay rise for nursing – with nearly two thirds of those favouring an increase of 5% or above (62%). (Total sample size was 1,488 adults in England. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23rd - 24th June 2022.)
Surveys were carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in England (aged 18+).
