Nurses in England vote to reject government's 5.5% pay rise
23 September 2024, 12:56 | Updated: 23 September 2024, 13:13
Nurses across England have rejected a new 5.5% pay offer tabled by the Government.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England rejected the deal by two-thirds in a record high turnout of around 145,000.
The pay award was announced by the Chancellor at the end of July, shortly after Labour won the general election.
It comes a week after junior doctors accepted a 22 per cent pay increase over 2 years.
According to the RCN the pay of experienced nurses fell by 25% in real terms under the Conservative government between 2010 to 2024.
The deal came after almost two years of ongoing strike action by junior doctors across the UK.
The RCN said the high turnout surpassed the level seen in two statutory ballots for industrial action held by the union in 2022 and 2023, the first of which permitted six months of strike action by nursing staff.
Read more: Anti-Israel heckler disrupts Rachel Reeves's speech at Labour conference
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, RCN general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said: "We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the determination of nursing staff to stand up for themselves, their patients and the NHS they believe in.
"Many will support the new Government's health and care agenda as set out in recent weeks and fully recognise the diagnosis of a failing NHS.
"Working closely with all other professionals, nursing staff are the lifeblood of the service.
"The Government will find our continued support for the reforms key to their success."
It follows a 28-hour walkout by cancer nurses in April, which marked the biggest strike by nurses in UK history.
It forced hospital bosses to warn of "exceptionally low" staffing levels at many UK hospitals.
