COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Health service faces another damaging walkout as soon as this month



The NHS is bracing for a further wave of nursing strikes as union members appear poised to reject the government’s pay deal.

On Friday the Royal College of Nursing will announce the results of a ballot which The Times has been told is likely to show that staff have not accepted an offer made by ministers.

Nurses’ leaders are expected to announce a return to the picket line as soon as this month and are readying a prolonged campaign to force further concessions. Such a move would also deal a blow to hopes of agreeing an end to industrial action by junior doctors, who are in the middle of an unprecedented four-day walkout.

Ministers insisted when a deal was struck last month that their offer was final and would not be improved. But frontline staff are said to be dissatisfied that an unparalleled wave of industrial action did not result in a better settlement.

After intensive talks with six unions last month, Steve Barclay, the health secretary, agreed to give more than a million NHS staff including nurses and paramedics a 5 per cent pay rise this financial year, plus a one-off bonus averaging about 6 per cent.

Pat Cullen, head of the Royal College of Nursing, described this as “real tangible progress” while Sara Gorton of Unison called it “the best to be achieved through negotiation”, recommending that members accept.

Both unions are due to announce results of ballots tomorrow, with the GMB and Unite following in two weeks. While some unions are expected to vote in favour of the deal, it is increasingly likely that at least one will reject it.

NHS bosses are particularly concerned about the RCN, whose members are expected to vote against by a “narrow” margin, with some predicting a 55-45 split. Unison members, who include ambulance workers and other frontline staff, are considered more likely to accept.

Three sources with knowledge of the process said it was becoming increasingly apparent that RCN members were likely to vote against the deal. Although voting will continue until 9am tomorrow, one NHS source said: “It’s not looking good”.

As well as a campaign against the deal by a group called NHS Workers Say No, frontline staff are said to be angry that deal was so far below the 19 per cent rise demanded when the union began its first ever strike in England.

“Many just genuinely don’t think it’s fair and had very high expectations going into industrial action,” a health source said. “They are angry at the fact that [the bigger, one-off bonus] is not consolidated and they want to see genuine revision of what nursing is paid.”

The RCN has not ruled out returning to the picket line before their strike mandate expires next month and if members do reject the deal the union could hold a fresh ballot to continue industrial action into the autumn.

This would raise the prospect of a summer of strike action by nurses and doctors at the same time, which horrifies NHS bosses whose hospitals are already struggling to cope. Figures revealed that one in ten patients spent more than 12 hours in A&E in February, with waiting lists for routine care rising to a record 7.22 million.

Barclay has described the deal as giving staff “a fair pay rise while protecting our commitment to halve inflation” and will now have to decide whether or not to honour it. His decision is likely to depend on how many unions reject the deal and by what margin, something they will formally present to him at a meeting on May 2.

The one-off bonus is the element most likely to be dropped and ministers could also back away from the 5 per cent permanent pay rise. If most unions accept the deal, though, the government could choose to give the full pay rise to all staff in the hope of heading off a renewed strike vote. However, further talks with the unions appear unlikely in the short term.

RCN nurses to strike on May bank holiday in England as pay offer rejected



Nurses in the Royal College of Nursing union have rejected the government's pay offer in England and will now go on strike over the first May bank holiday.

The 48-hour walkout from 20:00 BST on 30 April to 20:00 on 2 May will involve NHS nurses in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.

This will be "hugely concerning" for patients, the government says.

Members of the Unison union - which includes some nurses and ambulance crews - have accepted the pay offer.

The award on the table is a 5% pay rise for 2023-24.

And there is an extra one-off lump sum of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's salary.

Meanwhile, NHS junior doctors in England are currently staging a four-day walkout over pay, ending at 07:00 on Saturday.

For the first time, the RCN says this new strike will mean some critical care services, such as intensive care, will not be staffed on strike days - something which did not happen in previous strikes.

The government said that amounted to an escalation in strike action, "based on a vote from the minority of the nursing workforce".

Healthcare bosses say further strikes would have an impact on reducing already lengthy waiting lists for treatment, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to reduce.

The result of the RCN vote on pay was close - 54% voted to reject the offer, while 46% voted to accept it.

The Unison vote, however, was overwhelmingly in favour of the deal.

Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: "What has been offered to date is simply not enough."

In the letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, she said the government "needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it".

Until there was a significantly improved offer, RCN nurses were forced back to the picket line, she said.

"After a historic vote to strike, our members expect a historic pay award," Ms Cullen said.

Sara Gorton from Unison, whose members voted for the pay offer, said: "Clearly health workers would have wanted more, but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation.

"Over the past few weeks, health workers have weighed up what's on offer. They've opted for the certainty of getting the extra cash in their pockets soon."

A government spokesperson said the Unison decision "demonstrates that it is a fair and reasonable proposal that can bring this dispute to an end".

But it said it was "hugely disappointing" that the RCN had rejected the pay deal recommended by their leadership.

Hundreds of thousands of NHS staff from other unions are still voting on the same pay deal over the next two weeks.

England nurse strikes end as vote turnout too low



Strike action by nurses at the Royal College of Nursing will not continue after the union's ballot of its members in England failed to achieve a mandate.

While most of those members who cast a ballot voted to continue industrial action, the proportion taking part in the vote was too low for it to count.

Just over 43% took part - below the 50% threshold required by trade union laws.

The RCN balloted its members after the previous six-month mandate for strike action had expired.

Its members were among a minority of health staff who rejected the government's pay deal of a 5% rise this year and a lump sum of at least £1,655.

Members of Unison - the biggest NHS union - and those belonging to the bodies representing physios and midwives also backed the deal, which has now started to be paid.

It means only Unite in England has a mandate for strike action - and that is only for local strikes among some ambulance staff and support workers.

The Society of Radiographers is still balloting its members.

This pay deal and dispute is separate to the one involving members of the British Medical Association as doctors are on a different contract.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said she was "proud" of her members and said while many will be disappointed with the outcome the fight for fair pay and safe staffing would continue.

She said she was meeting ministers this week over the NHS workforce plan which is due to be published soon and she would continue to make the case for the profession.

"I know staff morale is low and the staffing crisis is set to worsen without immediate action.

"We have started something special - the voice of nursing has never been stronger and we're going to keep using it."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said it welcomed the end of the dispute and "hugely valued" the work of nurses.

"We hope other unions who remain in dispute with the government recognise it is time to stop industrial action and move forward together," she added.