Members of the Royal College of Nursing are to go on strike once more after they voted towards the newest authorities pay provide.
The outcome comes regardless of a advice from union leaders that they settle for it and means there might be a round the clock 48-hour strike – with out exemptions – from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm on 2 May.
The outcome comes regardless of Unison members voting in favour of the pay deal, on the grounds it was the “best that could be achieved through negotiation”.
For the primary time, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) strike will contain workers working in emergency departments, intensive care items, most cancers care and different providers that had been beforehand exempt from industrial motion.
More than six in 10 of eligible members took half within the poll, with 54% voting to reject the federal government’s provide and 46% voting for it. Turnout was 61%.
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen stated she had written to the federal government to inform it of “imminent” strike motion, in addition to a brand new poll and a request for a contemporary spherical of talks.
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In a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, Ms Cullen stated what nurses had been supplied was “simply not enough”.
“Since our talks in February, we have seen the pressures on the NHS continue to increase,” she stated.
“Until there is a significantly improved offer, we are forced back to the picket line.
“After a historic vote to strike, our members count on a historic pay award.”
The development will come as a blow to the government, which hoped a settlement with nurses would pave the way for breakthroughs in other sectors gripped by industrial action.
Instead, there is the likelihood of further strikes over the summer months after teachers also voted to reject the government’s offer and junior doctors continue to strike in an increasingly bitter struggle over pay.
However, the government will be buoyed by the “decisive” Unison result, in which three quarters of 288,000 NHS workers across England voted to accept the offer.
Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton said that while health workers “would have wished extra…this was the most effective that may very well be achieved by means of negotiation”.
Under the deal, Unison health workers will receive an additional one-off payment for the year 2022/23, along with a 5% pay rise for 2023/24 -10.4% for the lowest paid.
Unison, GMB and Unite the Union all also represent nurses in some capacity, as well as paramedics, 999 call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners.
According to the RCN, if the majority of members across all unions vote to accept the deal, then the government could still implement it.
A Unison source told Sky News they will be pushing for the government to implement the pay offer their members voted for, even though RCN members have rejected it and other unions may do as well.
A government spokesperson said: “It is massively disappointing that the Royal College of Nursing membership has rejected the pay deal advisable by their management.
“Following constructive discussions, all parties agreed this was a fair and generous offer which is demonstrated by Unison, representing the largest share of the NHS workforce, choosing to accept it.
“The incontrovertible fact that the Royal College of Nursing has introduced an escalation in strike motion with no derogations, primarily based on a vote from the minority of the nursing workforce, might be massively regarding for sufferers.”
Read extra:
‘The system is damaged’: On the A&E frontline through the strikes
Strike organiser on holiday as junior doctors stage 96-hour walkout
The pay deal rejected by RCN members would have seen nurses awarded a one-off payment of 2% of their salary, plus a COVID recovery bonus of 4% for the current financial year and 5% for the year after.
Mr Barclay previously explained that, under the offer, a newly qualified nurse would have received more than £1,800 this year on top of a pay rise of more than £1,300 next year.
NHS Providers Director of Communications Adam Brimelow said The RCN vote was a “setback” and was “extraordinarily worrying”.
“Trust leaders perceive the frustration of nurses, junior medical doctors and different workers who’ve seen their pay fall behind inflation yr after yr.
“It’s really important that the unions and government find a way through this to prevent more strikes and let the NHS focus on its big challenges, including cutting waiting lists and transforming services, instead of having to resort to ‘all hands on deck’ just to get through the day.”
The nurses’ dispute is separate from the junior medical doctors row. Ministers have repeatedly insisted they won’t enter into talks with the British Medical Association (BMA) till the union drops its demand for a 35% pay rise for junior medical doctors.
Content Source: information.sky.com