Nurses Strike over 10-Year Pay Cuts.

 by Henry Ball

It could be argued that Nursing is one of the most varied and public facing professions on the market, with specialisations ranging from Prison nurses, to SEN nurses, to Neonatal nurses (Newborn Babies), so why is it that registered nurses are in the top 5 Jobs with the most vacancies: 47,000 equating to 12% of total nurse jobs. Whenever you visit the GP or the hospital it is unlikely that you do not talk to or are tended to by a nurse of some kind. They assist in surgeries, they educate the public through training, and assess patients in place of doctors. So why is it that the Royal College of nursing has just successfully voted for strike action in a call for a pay rise?

One of the main reasons that this has happened is essentially due to low pay. Despite requiring a three year course to become a nurse, they can be paid as low as £15 an hour, And this has been steadily decreasing, with a 20% real value pay cut over the last 10 years. Along with the overworking due to understaffed positions and the stressful working conditions, this can put many nurses on ‘a financial knife edge at home and a raw deal at work’ [Pat Cullen: Royal College of Nurses general secretary]. This stress and financial strain has caused the Trussell Trust, one of the UK’s largest food bank networks, to see a noticeable increase in the number of nurses accessing the banks. 61% of NHS trust leaders also reported an increase in staff sickness due to mental health, reflecting on the working environment and moreover compounding the understaffing problems in hospitals. All of this just further demonstrates the extent of the problems at work which nurses are facing.

Despite further funding being called for by the RCN, the NHS pay review body has recently already increased the pay of over 1 million NHS workers by over £1400, on top of an extra 3% increase last year. While this may sound reasonable, due to current levels of inflation this barely counteracts the real pay cuts which nurses are experiencing, prompting their vote for strike action. As nurses are affiliated with a healthcare profession, it is not possible for them all to strike without causing devastating effects on the healthcare service of the entire country, therefore resulting in an unimaginable number of avoidable deaths. Due to this, the RCN has issued the statement that strike action will be carried out ‘legally and safely at all times’ ‘bearing in mind minimum safe staffing levels’. 

In conclusion, while the working conditions and pay of nurses at the moment is not sustainable, it may be nearly impossible for the government to meet all of the strikes requests, as the 5% pay rise above inflation which they have requested, would result in an overall increase of 17.6%, leading to an extra £9bn dent in an already suffering NHS budget. The only question now is: how will our new government find a way to satisfy the nurses, while keeping England’s banks afloat.