Do you support the vote for Nurses to go on strike over pay?
Nurses across the UK have voted to strike over pay with action expected to start by the end of the year.
The walkout will involve Royal College of Nursing members in more than half of hospitals and community teams, but emergency care will still be staffed.
Nurses in every service in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted for action. In Wales all but one health board did.
But in England, the turnout was too low in nearly half of NHS trusts for strike action to take place.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough.”
She said nurses had been getting a “raw deal” on pay for years.
“Ministers must look in the mirror and ask how long they will put nursing staff through this.”
A “demoralised” nursing associate has said one of the biggest reasons she decided to vote in favour of strike action was to protect the NHS for future generations, amid fears that the service could end up in a “deeper crisis” if action does not take place.
“The main reason we’re doing it is for patient safety because if we don’t improve the pay or conditions, we’re not going to retain nurses and what you’ll leave is an NHS in deeper crisis and a further increase in patient mortality, poor care,” she said.
“We have an ageing population – we need a robust, well-funded supportive nursing workforce to support future generations to come.
“And unless we take action now, we’re not going to have that and that could lead to the privatisation of the health service.”
She added that while she recognises that people may have concerns about nurses striking, unions and NHS trusts will work together to “minimise disruption as much as possible”.
The strike will be the first time UK-wide action is being taken by RCN members in its 106-year history.
It comes after the government in England and Wales gave NHS staff an average of 4.75% rise this year – with the lowest paid getting more.
Scotland has offered a flat rate of just over £2,200, which means a newly qualified nurse would get around 8% more.
The RCN has asked for 5% above the RPI rate of inflation, which stands at over 12%.
What are your views? Do you support the nurses decision?
