Thousands of RCN members are meeting in Liverpool this week at our biggest annual conference, RCN Congress.
In his opening speech to delegates, RCN President Bejoy Sebastian recalled many of the previous year’s nursing highlights, focusing on the power of collective action.
This included the Westminster government commitment that every nurse paid at band 5 in the NHS in England have their role reviewed by their employer.
Bejoy told delegates that above-inflation annual pay awards should be “the norm” for nursing staff, but stressed the real work ahead isn't just fighting for annual percentage uplifts.
Instead, we must focus on securing a meaningful uplift at the very foundation of our pay structure and then building upward to raise the profession as a whole.
He added that nursing staff must be paid fairly for the complexity, responsibility, and safety-critical work that nursing roles demand, and included in every important discussion about nursing pay.
Bejoy also reflected on leading a group of RCN members in a lobby of parliament on proposals to change the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) system across the UK. Thanks to our campaigning, the Home Office announced in November last year that nurses in the NHS would be effectively exempt from the changes.
The RCN President ended his speech with a rallying call to nursing staff across the UK.
“As a profession, and as a College, we must remain ready. Ready and organised to do more, and to rise to the challenges,” he said.
"If governments across the country don’t follow through on their commitments to nursing, or fail to recognise the importance of nursing, ...we will raise our voices louder and stand together, because we are the ones who can make change happen."
As part of the Congress opening ceremony, delegates sang along with the Cre8tive Station choir before campaigner Margaret Aspinall shared her experiences about campaigning for justice and a Hillsborough Law.
Margaret, Chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, is known for her tireless battle for justice following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Her 18-year-old son James was one of the 97 football fans who lost their lives as a result of the events that day.
“If you fight long and hard enough, you will get there,” she said. “We have a duty to the people – do the right thing, by the people, for the people.”
She told delegates none of us know what will come next. “When my son went to his first away game at just 18, he never came home. None of us knew that would happen,” she added.
RCN Congress takes place in Liverpool from Monday 18 May to Thursday 21 May. During the week, RCN members will network, hear from keynote speakers and take part in vibrant debates about the issues affecting the nursing workforce. They will also participate in an education and development programme and visit our exhibition.
