More than 300,000 members have been urged to vote for strike action over the past four weeks in the RCN’s biggest strike ballot in its 106-year history.
Members were eligible to vote if they work for an NHS employer on an Agenda for Change contract in England, Scotland or Wales, or if they work for the HSC in Northern Ireland.
Civica Election Services undertook the ballot on behalf of the RCN and papers needed to be returned by 12 noon today (2 November).
The ballot was carried out at an employer level rather than a national level, meaning the thresholds required for strike action to be lawful in each country will be used to determine at which workplaces strike action could be held. Find out more about the required thresholds.
The votes are now being counted with results announced in the coming days. Please make sure your contact details are correct in MyRCN so you don’t miss out on important information.
RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: “I want to thank members for taking the time to vote in this historic ballot. Your vote is your voice, and we must use that voice.
“There has never been a more crucial time to fight for safe staffing and fair pay. Our NHS is on the precipice due to chronic staff shortages. Our profession is being pushed to the edge, with patient safety paying the price.
“None of us wants to take industrial action but we’ve been forced into this position after a decade of real-terms pay cuts. We can’t stand by and watch our colleagues and patients suffer anymore. Enough is enough.”
There are record nursing vacancies and in the last year 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register.
With recent analysis showing an experienced nurse’s salary has fallen 20% in real terms since 2010, the goodwill and expertise of nursing staff is being exploited by governments across the UK.
We’re campaigning for a pay rise of 5% above inflation to overcome a decade of real-terms pay cuts, support nursing staff through the cost-of-living crisis and recognise their safety critical skills.
Only by paying nursing staff fairly will we be able to retain existing and recruit new nursing staff, protecting patient safety.
You can add weight to our campaign by signing our open letter to the prime minister in which we implore Rishi Sunak to pay nursing staff fairly to protect the profession, to protect the public.
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