Nursing Pay in Wales

In Wales, 29.1% of eligible members voted, with 90.6% of those saying they’d be willing to take action short of strike. 55.9% of voters said they’d be willing to withdraw their labour in strike action. 

With recommendations from the RCN Wales Board, members' elected representatives on the RCN’s Trade Union Committee will now carefully consider the results and decide on next steps.

This ballot, which concluded on 30 November, asked about members' support in principle for industrial action. The results don't formally authorise industrial action, but they will inform the next steps and show that the fight for fair pay is far from over. The vast majority of members who responded in our previous consultations deemed the 3% NHS pay award for 2021/22 unacceptable.  

More on the ballot results...

The RCN is campaigning for Fair Pay for Nursing.

The Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is about:

• recognising the complexity of skill, responsibility and experience demonstrated every day, by nursing support workers, assistant practitioners, registered nurses and all members of the profession.

• making sure that a safety critical profession can reach safe staffing levels and fill tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs.

• recognising that the salaries of too many nursing professionals has not kept pace with increases to their living costs over the past decade.

Ultimately, the Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is about providing safe and effective care for all people of the United Kingdom.

The Fair Pay for Nursing campaign aims to secure a fully-funded 12.5% pay increase for all nursing staff covered by Agenda for Change terms, as part of a one-year deal that applies equally to all bands.

How did we get here?

The Welsh Government announced on 21 July 2021 that NHS staff in Wales will be given a 3% pay rise for 2021-22.

That is lower than the rate of inflation, which is expected to hit 3.7% this year, meaning staff will effectively get a pay cut. Read RCN Wales’ response to the announcement.

The results of the consultation, which ran from 12 August - 13 September, showed members overwhelmingly agreed that the pay award for NHS staff in England and Wales is unacceptable.

RCN Wales lodged a formal trade dispute with the Welsh Government on 14 October, giving them 7 days to meet with us to discuss the pay award, but they refused. As a result, RCN Wales decided to take the next step and initiate an indicative ballot which would not formally authorise industrial action but would inform next steps in our fight for fair pay by asking members about their willingness to support industrial action, in principle.

The ballot has now concluded and next steps are being considered by the RCN Trade Union Committee and Welsh Board. The RCN is clear that industrial action is always a last resort, but we’re also clear that the current staffing crisis in the NHS is causing unacceptable risk to patients and staff.

Make sure your membership details are up to date so we can contact you - check MyRCN now.

Get involved in our campaign to let the Welsh Government know why you believe nursing staff deserve a 12.5% pay rise. Below are some ideas of how you can stay active, stay in touch and stay engaged in the #FairPayForNursing campaign.