A majority of Royal College of Nursing (RCN)members in England voted against the Labour government’s 5.5% pay award, the body announced today (September 23).
The RCN’s own announcement emphasised that this was not a vote for strike action and that nurses would receive the 5.5% increase. A record number of 145,000 RCN members voted on the pay award with 64% rejecting it, the Royal College said.
“As this is a pay award rather than a pay offer, the results of our consultation will not directly affect employers’ payment of it,” the RCN said. “However, it shows our members’ strength of feeling that something fundamental must change for nursing pay.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting issued a conciliatory response, saying the Labour government understood the nurses’ concerns. “We know what nurses have been through in recent years and how hard it is at the moment,” Streeting said in a statement. “That’s why, despite the bleak economic inheritance, the Chancellor awarded them with an above inflation pay rise.”
“For the first time in a long time, nurses have got a government on their side, that wants to work with them to take the NHS from the worst crisis in its history, to get it back on its feet and make it fit for the future. We will work with NHS staff to turn this around together.
READ MORE: Monday at Labour conference 2024: Five key events, speeches and parties on Monday in Liverpool
The RCN stressed that it would have to carry out “a new statutory ballot by post” in order to authorise any industrial action. The Royal College’s general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger is attending the Labour Annual Conference and spoke at a Labour List event shortly before the RCN announced the ballot results.
“Nursing staff were asked to consider if, after more than a decade of neglect, they thought the pay award was a fair start,” Ranger said in a statement. “This outcome shows their expectations of government are far higher.”
Ranger said RCN members “do not yet feel valued and they are looking for urgent action, not rhetorical commitments”. She said they were concerned about understaffed shifts, poor patient care and nursing careers trapped at the lowest pay grades”. She called on the government to ensure its reforms “will transform their profession as a central part of improving care for the public.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the award on 29 July as one of Labour’s first actions in government. Streeting fully accepted the recommendations of the three official pay review bodies dealing with National Health Service employees.
The nurses’ reaction contrasts with that of junior doctors, who voted by 66% to 34% to accept their pay award. Labour List has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.
Follow all of the news and debate at party conference 2024 by LabourList here, the leading dedicated platform for Labour supporters on all things Labour.
SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
DONATE: If you value our work, please donate to become one of our supporters here and help sustain and expand our coverage.
PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or content, email [email protected].
More from LabourList
Conference 2024: Rachel Reeves pledges “a Budget to rebuild Britain” and condemns Tory waste
Labour Conference 2024: Rachel Reeves’ speech to delegates as it happened
Conference 2024: Delegates set to debate motions on Royal Mail, clean energy and more