Nurses across the country are set to strike in the first ever national action over a pay dispute. Although counting is still under way, it is understood that Royal College of Nursing officials believe enough members have voted for winter industrial action which is set to take place within a few weeks, possibly before Christmas.
The exact nature of the strike action is yet to be determined, but it will likely see patients face disruption to operations and appointments while already facing record NHS waiting lists. Greater Manchester leaders, namely Andy Burnham, have come out in favour of the strike - the mayor tweeted: “Support the nurses.” And according to Manchester Evening News readers, the mayor is not alone.
Many M.E.N. social media followers have pledged their support for the nurses as the union’s general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Our strike action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses – we have their support in doing this.” The strike ballot among more than 300,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) was the biggest ever in the union’s 106-year history.
The union’s general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Our strike action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses – we have their support in doing this.”
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The M.E.N. shared on our Facebook page the news that nurses would likely be striking yesterday, November 6, followed by the announcement that the government does have a contingency plan in the event of a strike. Thousands of comments on the social media posts showed Mancunians sharing their thoughts on the national news.
Social media user Jennifer Jones was among those to share recent personal stories of an NHS under huge pressures: “After spending 8 hours in A&E it was very obvious that the NHS have been brought to its knees, without the facilities and staff to deliver the service they wish to.
“All the vending machines empty or out of order, not even enough wheelchairs to ferry injured patients, let alone staff to do it. Yet the staff are professional, caring, desperately sympathetic and empathetic. They are obliged to work their days off because of lack of staff and end up exhausted and constantly apologising.
“We have the best doctors and nurses in the world yet they are treated so badly instead of treasured.”
Steven Hardwick commented that his family has to rely on extra shifts, known as bank shifts, which can be for more pay as the basic nursing rate is not enough for them to make ends meet. He said: “My wife works as a neonatal intensive care nurse. Her basic is poor so we have to rely on the bank shifts.”
Facebook user Sue Porter responded: “I’m sure that nurses have not found this decision easy but totally agree with this action. They have always been taken for granted now people will actually see just what nurses do every day or their working lives. 12 hours shifts more than often without a break. The work is hard, dirty in some instances and in some cases thankless.”
“I agree, they are paying for parking, actually paying £120 a year for their pins, to practice as a nurse,” replied Julie Kelly. “They are so short staffed, my daughter worked all through covid, double shifts, no staff, no breaks.
“When my daughter was training, she got next to no bursary, and they sent her on placements miles and miles from her home. Luckily she got through it with the help of her family. They deserve a decent wage as do most other employees.”
Working at a crisp factory could earn you more than being a nurse, Facebook commenter Lorraine Dawkins claimed: "I once collected an item from Facebook market place and the lady somehow left a payslip inside! I honestly could not believe the pittance that she was paid monthly for being an on call theatre nurse!
"I worked in a crisp factory at the time and let's say I earned £8,000-a-year more for 48-hours a week! This lady had worked a lot more and I did four on, four off. They even have to pay to bl***y park their cars at the hospital to work!
"Shocking… if a strike is what it takes to be given their worth then so be it"
Kim Miraut was one of many social media commenters calling on the ‘clap for carers’ which took place during the height of the pandemic. She added: “It had to come. How short are the government's memories, they were happy enough to clap with the country or sing praises to all the NHS. But now comes the time to give the nurses a rise in pay that is overdue, fair and recognises finally the vital roll that the NHS plays in daily life.”
One NHS patient said they were happy for their care to be sacrificed in the short term of the nursing strike, however there were others with concerns about the impact action could have on patients.
“I do hope that patient care does not suffer as a result of this nurses strike,” said Steve Collier. “I agree they should be paid more appropriate wages for the excellent work they do, but is striking really the only alternative to get their point across? If patient care does suffer or, heaven forbid, someone dies as a direct result, that's hardly going to help their case is it?”
But again and again, Greater Manchester readers commented that the government’s ‘contingency plan’ should be to ‘just pay nurses what they deserve’. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said that in the event of strikes, the NHS would prioritise the most essential services – although he acknowledged that it would have an impact on other activities, including elective surgery.
“We have well-oiled contingencies in place and the Department of Health is across how we would deal with a scenario like this should it arise,” he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme. “We will make sure we prioritise the most essential services – emergency services and so on. But of course there would be an impact as a result of a strike like that.”
Dowden urged nurses and others to reconsider going on strike, even if they supported industrial action in the ballot. “We have already agreed quite considerable support for nurses,” he said.
Union officials say that since the Conservatives took power in 2010, the pay of some experienced nurses has fallen by 20 per cent in real terms, The Guardian reported. They are calling for a pay award of 5 per cent increase plus inflation – a total of about 15 per cent. But the government said the average basic annual pay for nurses would increase from about £35,600 to about £37,000 from March 2022, a rise of just 4 per cent.
“Cutting nurses’ wages by 20% since 2010 is the opposite of providing ‘considerable support’ for nurses and the Cabinet Office minister shouldn’t insult our members by pretending it is,” said a spokesperson for the RCN, which had recommended to its 300,000 members that they strike. “The minister appears in denial about both the anger of nursing staff and the public support we have.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We value the hard work of NHS staff including nurses, and are working hard to support them – including by giving over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least 1,400 this year as recommended by the independent NHS Pay Review Body, on top of 3 per cent last year when pay was frozen in the wider public sector. Industrial action is a matter for unions, and we urge them to carefully consider the potential impacts on patients.”
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