Latest news with #RCN
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Is the NHS gearing up for a new winter of discontent?
More bad news for the government's attempts to reduce waiting times in the NHS and end the incessant strikes that have troubled the service for some years. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is holding a consultative ballot on the independent pay review board's recommended pay rise of 3.6 per cent. It obviously comes during the five-day resident doctors' strike, and there are also signs of unrest developing elsewhere in the NHS. Some difficult times lie ahead... When are the nurses going on strike? Not soon. The present RCN vote is 'consultative' or 'indicative', and is aimed at strengthening their bargaining hand – there's no commitment to withdraw labour. Union sources suggest there will be an overwhelming rejection of the offer, which is already barely sufficient to keep up with inflation – but this may, to some extent, be a bargaining ploy as they enter into negotiations. Even so, the chances are they'd go on strike again after a 'real' strike ballot, as they did so often in 2022 and 2023. It might happen towards the end of the year. Is it too soon to use the phrase 'winter of discontent'? Sort of. Nonetheless, it is perfectly possible to conceive of the nurses and doctors being on strike simultaneously towards the end of the year. The GMB union is making similar noises about industrial action. They represent many domestic and auxiliary staff, plus ambulance crews (a service still in some crisis). It might well feel a lot like when Rishi Sunak was running the country – 'chaos and confusion'. What could stop the strikes? More money, but that feels unlikely given the state of the public finances, and just how many people work in the NHS – the pay bill was around £82bn in 2023-24 for England and Wales, about a half of the NHS budget. So a 1 per cent uplift is the best part of £1bn. A more important factor, though its impact is less direct, is public opinion. Support for strike action is certainly subsiding in the case of the doctors. Maybe Wes Streeting, faced with by far the greatest challenge of his political career, will somehow persuade them to help him reform and save the NHS – which would, after all, be in their own long-term interests. What would be the effect on the NHS? Severe – though eventually, when the strikes are settled, as they'll have to be one day, the backlogs will eventually return to normal. The much more insidious damage will be to public confidence in the NHS as an institution. If neither the Conservatives nor Labour can fix the NHS, the question may be asked, who can? For some it might feel as though more radical changes are needed, and that the NHS should be effectively privatised. Such changes would not necessarily be in the best interests of the BMA, RCN, or Unison members. The nurses should thus worry about destroying the thing they profess to love most – the health service itself. What does the opposition say? Nigel Farage wants a 'French-style' insurance system – but that means hefty premiums for some, and presents a problem for those people who cannot afford them. Questions would remain about how to fund the kinds of long-term treatment that the private sector refuses to cover – for dementia, cancer, degenerative diseases. Under such a regime, some doctors and nurses in some disciplines might prosper, but others would be worse off. It would be driven more by market forces. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, wants to ban strikes by doctors: 'Doctors hold lives in their hands. No one should lose critical healthcare because of strikes, but that's what's happening now. That's why a Conservative government led by me would ban doctors' strikes, just like we do [in respect of] the army and police.' However, working to rule, and overtime bans, would not be outlawed, which could render the 'ban' ineffective given how much the NHS depends on people working beyond their contracted hours. The Conservatives might also reinstate 'minimum service' in hospitals and healthcare, now being abolished by Labour via the Employment Rights Bill. In short, some form of industrial action would remain an option.
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Nurses could join doctors in wave of new NHS strikes after key vote
The Royal College of Nursing is furious nurses have been awarded a lower pay deal than doctors and its members have voted whether to accept a 3.6% rise Nurses are expected to reject their pay deal which could lead to them joining doctors on strike amid the prospect of a series of NHS walkouts. The Royal College of Nursing's 'indicative vote' on their 3.6% pay award closed on Sunday and it will be confirmed this week that members voted 'overwhelmingly' to reject the deal, the Times reported. Nurses are furious that for the second year running they have been given less than resident doctors, who have been awarded 5.4%. Tuesday is the final day of resident doctors' five-day strike and their members in the British Medical Association have a legal mandate for six months of strike action until January. The RCN has previously labelled it 'grotesque' that nurses were again being awarded less than doctors for 2025/26. The indicative vote would need to be followed by a formal ballot for strike action which is likely to take place in autumn. However RCN leaders will use the ballot to demand urgent talks with Government to avoid a walkout. It is reportedly open to talks on wider pay structures and career progression, not just headline pay. A spokesman for the RCN said: "The results will be announced to our members later this week. As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the government must urgently begin to turn that around." Ambulance and other hospital staff in the GMB union voted to reject their own 3.6% pay award last week, with strike action now being considered. The BMA consultants' committee, representing more senior doctors currently covering for striking colleagues, is also holding an indicative vote over a 4% pay deal it described as an "insult". Resident doctors - formerly known as junior doctors - are demanding a commitment to a full return to 2008 levels of pay, arguing that by the Retail Price Index Measure of inflation their real terms salaries are down a fifth since then. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the BMA's resident doctors committee co-chairs 'have seriously underestimated me' after they walked out on last ditch talks to avert the five-day strike which started last Friday. Government sources have claimed the co-chairs appeared happy with a deal to postpone strikes, before announcing they would go ahead after going back to their full committee. The Guardian reports this deal would have involved hot meals when working overnight, some exam fees paid, funding for kit such as stethoscopes, improved mess rooms and changes to the way their postgraduate training rotations are organised. Footage taken by the Mirror shows co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt being heckled - with a passer-by shouting "bol****s to you" - as they arrived at Parliament for talks a fortnight ago to discuss 'creative solutions' to the strike, such as reducing training expenses. Tom Dolphin, BMA council chair, said resident doctors' salaries should reflect their responsibility for making "life and death decisions", adding: "Even nurses who've had a pretty bad time [are] not as badly off as doctors in terms of lost pay." While the BMA is adamant headline pay must rise, nurses are reported to be more open to talks on wider pay structures. The RCN has repeatedly complained that nurses can remain on the lowest rung of the NHS pay scale for decades. Reforms could allow them to move up the scale sooner as they gain experience. The RCN last engaged in strike action in late December 2022 and early January 2023 under the previous Tory government. The union's online survey of 345,000 members in England Wales and Northern Ireland, which is due later this week, will reportedly show a 'clear' rejection of the 3.6% award. Speaking last month, RCN General Secretary Nicola Ranger said: 'It is a grotesque decision to again favour doctor colleagues for higher increases than nursing and the rest of the NHS.' Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to outlaw strikes by doctors, bringing them into line with the police and army, if she becomes prime minister. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We hugely value the vital role of nurses and their contribution to patient care. That's why we've delivered two above inflation pay increases in 10 months, meaning for the first time ever nurses starting salaries have risen to over £30,000. "We have been clear we can't move any further on headline pay but we are committed to working with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns over career progression and wider working conditions."
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Nurses expected to vote to reject proposed pay deal
Nurses in England are expected to 'overwhelmingly' reject a proposed 3.6% pay rise, it has been reported. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been balloting its members over the prospective pay rise, which was accepted by the Government in May. BBC reports suggest the offer will be firmly rejected by nursing staff. The RCN previously described the award as 'grotesque', saying it will see nursing staff receive a pay rise 'entirely swallowed up by inflation' – with doctors, teachers, prison officers and the armed forces all receiving a bigger increase. Any decision on strike action would not be made until later in the year, the public broadcaster reports. It comes days after GMB health workers, including ambulance crews, rejected the Government's pay deal. The union said its members voted by 67% against the 3.6% pay award offered for 2025/26 in England. GMB has written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling for an urgent meeting to discuss pay and other issues of importance to its members working across the NHS and ambulance services. Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: 'We await his reply with interest.' The GMB represents about 50,000 health workers, including 20,000 in the ambulance service. The announcement was made on the first day of a five-day strike by resident doctors, also over pay. The RCN has been contacted for comment.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
NHS braced for MORE chaos as nurses 'vote to reject their pay deal' and could join junior doctors on strike
The NHS is braced for more chaos amid fears nurses will reject their pay deal and join junior doctors in taking strike action. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been holding a vote among its members on the 3.6 per cent pay rise, with the results to be announced later this week. The trade union has previously branded the pay offer as 'grotesque' as doctors, teachers, prison officers and the Armed Forces all received a bigger increase. They have claimed nursing staff will see the pay rise 'entirely swallowed up by inflation '. According to the BBC, the results of the RCN vote will show an 'overwhelming' rejection of the deal. Union bosses are expected to demand the Government negotiate over the summer to avoid a formal ballot for strike action in the autumn. It comes days after GMB health workers, including ambulance crews, rejected the Government's pay deal. The union said its members voted by 67 per cent against the 3.6 per cent pay award offered for 2025/26 in England. Thousands of resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, began a five-day walkout on Friday. Relations between the Government and British Medical Association (BMA) have soured amid their own dispute about pay. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said the union will not be allowed to 'hold the country to ransom' after receiving a 28.9 per cent pay award over the last three years, the highest across the public sector. But the BMA has said, despite this uplift, pay for resident doctors has declined by a fifth since 2008 once inflation is taken into account. Mr Streeting is now braced for a separate dispute with nurses over pay, following the closure of the RCN vote. An RCN spokesman said: 'The results will be announced to our members later this week. 'As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the Government must urgently begin to turn that around.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said new full-time nurses would receive £30,000 in basic pay for the first time this year following previous pay rises. They added: 'This Government is clear we can't move any further on headline pay but will work with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns on career progression and wider working conditions.' Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to ban doctors' strikes if the Conservatives return to power. She vowed to introduce legislation to block medics from taking widespread industrial action, placing the same restrictions on them that apply to police officers and soldiers. The Tory plans would see minimum service level requirements - which were brought in for some sectors by the previous government and scrapped by Labour - introduced across the health service. The only people restricted from going on strike in the UK under existing laws are police officers and members of the Armed Forces.
The Independent
a day ago
- Health
- The Independent
Nurses set to turn down new pay deal
Nursing staff in England are widely expected to reject a 3.6 per cent pay offer, which the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has labelled "grotesque" and insufficient due to inflation. GMB health workers, including ambulance crews, have already rejected a similar government pay deal, with 67 per cent voting against the 3.6 per cent offer for 2025/26. Unions highlight that the proposed pay rise falls short compared to increases received by doctors, teachers, prison officers, and the armed forces. Analysis by the RCN indicates that nurses' pay is £8,000 lower than if it had kept pace with inflation since 2010, severely eroding wages, particularly for junior staff. GMB has requested an urgent meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting to discuss pay, while any decision on potential strike action by nurses would be made later in the year.
