May Bank holiday strike by RCN nurses as pay offer rejected

Nurses at the Royal College of Nursing union have rejected the government's pay offer in England and will now go on strike over the first May Bank holiday.

The 48-hour walkout from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm on 2 May will involve NHS nurses in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.

This will be "hugely concerning" for patients, says the government.

Members of the Unison union - which includes some nurses and ambulance crews - have accepted the pay offer.

The offer is a 5% pay rise for 2023/24.

And there is an extra one-off lump sum of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's salary.

Meanwhile, NHS junior doctors in England are currently staging a four-day walkout over pay, ending at 0700 Saturday.

For the first time, the RCN says this new strike will include some critical care services, such as intensive care, that were previously exempt in previous strikes.

The result of the RCN vote on pay was very close - 54% voted to reject the pay offer while 46% voted to accept it.

The Unison vote, however, was overwhelmingly in favour of the deal.

Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: "What has been offered to date is simply not enough."

In the letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, she said the government "needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it".

"The crisis in our health and care services cannot be addressed without significant action that addresses urgent recruitment and retention issues and nursing pay to bring this dispute to a close urgently.

"Until there is a significantly improved offer, we are forced back to the picket line.

"Meetings alone are not sufficient to prevent strike action and I will require an improved offer as soon as possible.

"In February, you opened negotiations directly with me and I urge you to do the same now.

"After a historic vote to strike, our members expect a historic pay award," Ms Cullen said.

Sara Gorton from Unison, whose members voted for the pay offer, said: "Clearly health workers would have wanted more, but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation.

"Over the past few weeks, health workers have weighed up what's on offer. They've opted for the certainty of getting the extra cash in their pockets soon."

A government spokesperson said the Unison decision "demonstrates that it is a fair and reasonable proposal that can bring this dispute to an end".

"Hundreds of thousands of Agenda for Change staff continue to vote in ballots for other unions over the next two weeks and we hope this generous offer secures their support," the spokesperson added.