Dear sir,
The Royal College of Nursing is balloting all of its UK members for strike action for the first time in its 106-year history. The union is recommending its 300,000 members walk out over pay, with the result of the ballot due next month. If strikes does go ahead, the RCN says they would affect non-urgent but not emergency care.
The RCN has been calling for a rise of 5% above the inflation rate of 12%.
In England and Wales, NHS staff, including nurses, are being given an average of 4.75% more, with extra for the lowest paid, while in Scotland, 5% has been given. In Northern Ireland, nurses are yet to receive a pay award.
Midwives are also being urged to vote in favour of strike action over pay in a ballot that will be held next month.
I wanted to help give some facts and context in support of my nursing friends and colleagues;
- In 2022/23, a newly qualified nurse will leave University with an average student debt of £50k.
- Their starting salary in the NHS will be £27,055.
- They will pay mandatory £120 for NMC registration to practice every year.
- They will pay between £200-500/yr in parking fees (depending on Trust) before even stepping through the front door.
- They will pay £15-£20/month for Union membership and professional indemnity.
- Their breaks are unpaid. They have 2x 30 minute breaks per long-day (13 hour shift) - if they can take them. Units are never left short, especially in emergency situations.
- 9% of their gross salary will be taken each month in student loan repayments. It is now estimated most nurses will never pay their student loans off in full under the new loans system, meaning this 9% deduction will continue for the majority of their professional lives until it is written off after 30 years.
- After adjustment for inflation, despite the most recent pay deal, nurse’s real wages have dropped by £1583 on average per year since 2011. Nursing pay bands are worth an average 11% less than they were a decade ago.
- There are currently thousands of vacancies across the country for nursing jobs, due to years of underinvestment and under recruitment, costing approximately £6 billion/yr in expensive agency staff.
- An independent study found a 10% pay rise to nursing staff would pay for itself through greater tax income from higher wages, and by reducing the amount of student loans needing to be written off.
- Another study found for every extra patient a nurse is asked to look after beyond a safe amount, the risk of harm increases by 7%.
Record numbers of registered nurses are now permanently leaving the profession.
Nurses are not greedy people. I know colleagues in the position of working full time as a registered nurse, yet have to attend food banks in order to feed their family. RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: “When half of the NHS needs to open food banks for its own staff, ministers’ heads should be hanging in shame.”
I see colleagues working extra shifts, over their full time hours, as well as working through their annual leave for the extra income. Something has got to give. The recent pay deal amounted to a pay cut in real terms.
The Health secretary Therese Coffey said, “We’ve honoured the independent pay review body’s recommendations on this. That was higher than many of the other pay rises that other public-sector workers are getting. “
The Royal College of Nursing has already accused Dr Coffey of having her “head firmly in the sand” and “the government’s offer of a 3% wage rise makes a difference to a nurse’s wage of 72p a week”.
The Green Party has backed calls for a 15% pay rise for NHS workers following the Government’s derisory proposal of 3%. With a current shortfall of 40,000 nurses, the Green Party pledge that working conditions and wages of nurses, need to rise in order to encourage more people to train as nurses.
Many thanks
Lisa Miller
Intensive Care Nurse
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