The 300,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will receive strike ballot papers in the post today (Thursday) after years of being “pushed to the edge” with patient safety paying the price.

This will be the biggest strike ballot in the RCN’s 106-year history, but the College says it cannot stand by and watch its colleagues and patients suffer anymore.

The ballot relates to NHS pay. A below inflation NHS pay award has been announced in England and Wales, and a below inflation NHS pay offer has been made in Scotland. Northern Ireland members are till awaiting a pay announcement for HSC staff, meaning members there are once again worse off compared to their colleagues in other parts of the UK.

The RCN says that across the board, it’s unacceptable so they are 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.

It says that only by paying nursing staff fairly will we be able to retain existing and recruit new nursing staff to the safety critical roles they do.

Nursing staff can’t afford to join or stay in the profession

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen added: “Though strike action is a last resort, it is a powerful tool for change. And we must demand that change. Enough is enough. I urge you to vote ‘yes’ in this ballot.”

“Patient care is at risk because of chronic staff shortages, but nursing staff can’t afford to join or stay in the profession. There are tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs across the UK. Unless governments start to value and pay nursing staff properly, there will be a further exodus, adding more pressure to an overstretched system.”

In England, Scotland and Wales, the law states that strike ballots must attract at least a 50% turnout and the majority must vote yes for strike action to be lawful.

Nurses are 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.