NHS workers face a "horrendous situation" over whether to accept a revised pay offer, some staff have told the ECHO.
In ballots opening next week, ambulance workers and nurses will vote on a pay offer from the government after weeks of talks earlier this month. It includes a 5% pay rise and a one-off payment of between £1,655 and £3,789 for staff on Agenda for Change contracts, which includes nurses, paramedics, 999 call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government and trade unions "have come to an agreement". The RCN, Unison and GMB are recommending the offer to their members, with Unison describing it as "a victory against all the odds".
But today workers we spoke to said there were conflicting views on what to do next, with one describing the situation for many as "horrendous."
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Roughly 25,000 ambulance workers went on strike in December, January and February. Up to 100,000 members of the RCN walked out on four dates in the union's first strike action in its nearly 107-year history, and the country was preparing for further walk-outs this month as the government refused to increase its pay offer.
Suddenly there was movement - ministers at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) entered negotiations with the unions, and, in late February and early March, the strikes were called off.
One nurse, who asked not to be named, estimates she lost around £300 in wages due to going on strike. The mum is currently working six day weeks picking up extra shifts to make ends meet. She said: "When the strike got called off, I was relieved. I was relieved for the patients and I was relieved for my colleagues who financially can't afford to strike - me being one of them.
"Being on strike was very worrying for a lot of people, so when it got called off and they were willing to have those talks, we were all quite excited. I was surprised it was happening because we'd been ignored for so many months, but there was an air of excitement.
"Then the talks were taking quite a long time. Obviously you discuss it with your colleagues and we felt a bit less optimistic. Then when we got the offer, it was just like, why did we call the strikes off for this? If this is what they're offering, why bother striking in the first place? It's demoralising that they think this is a good offer."
A paramedic in Merseyside said two colleagues have handed in their notice in the last two weeks.
Looking at the 12% pay rise given to firefighters before they went on strike makes the offer made to NHS workers "feel like a kick in the teeth" and like they're "just being given the dregs", according to the paramedic.
She said: "It'd be lovely to see some of these politicians on an ambulance doing a 12-hour night shift to get a taste of what we have to go through. Then maybe they would think we were worth more than 5%."
Katie Kendrick, a paediatric nurse at Arrowe Park Hospital, described the outcome of pay negotiations as "hugely disappointing" and "an insult to our profession, to our patients and to our NHS". She said: "One of our main reasons for taking strike action was because we are struggling to recruit new nurses into our profession because of poor pay.
"The lump sum is non-consolidated, so it will do nothing to attract new nurses to the profession. It's nothing more than a dangling carrot."
There's a shortage of more than 40,000 nurses in England, a vacancy rate of roughly 10%, which NHS workers say puts patients at risk.
Nearly 43,000 people aged 21 to 50 left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) between 2018 and 2022, with the numbers leaving rising considerably since 2020, according to a report published by the RCN in February.
Combined, these factors make an already high-pressure job even more stressful. Katie said: "It doesn't matter if you haven't got the staff, or you haven't got the capacity to go and see those patients.
"It doesn't matter how many people turn up in ambulances, you can't say, 'Oh sorry, we're full' - you have to see those patients."
It's the pressure of the job that leaves nurses in tears, and the Merseycare nurse knows of one new starter who handed in their notice after just eight weeks. She said: "It's heartbreaking to see grown people crying - crying over work. Not because there's a personal tragedy, they're crying because they're burnt out. The nature of being a nurse, it's a very emotive job.
"You can't be a nurse unless you care, so these are people who care and they're crying on shift. What they do is, they cry in the office, they wipe their faces and they go and give amazing care to those patients, and then probably cry when they get home."
Since March last year, the RCN has said a pay rise of 5% above inflation was needed to "turn the tide on years of unfilled nursing jobs". Inflation was at 7% at the time, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI).
With prices rising at a rate of 10.4% this February, nurses who spoke to the ECHO think a pay rise of half that rate won't be enough to fix the recruitment and retention crisis.
Katie said: "The RCN leadership team worked tirelessly to get us to the negotiating table, and we were there with our heads held high. However, they left with breadcrumbs. I'm not surprised by the government's offer of breadcrumbs, but what I am most surprised and disappointed in is the RCN's acceptance of such breadcrumbs and its recommendation members accept the offer.
"Striking was a very difficult decision for many nurses as it went against the grain. Now we are left with another difficult decision. Do we now go against the RCN recommendation and accept, or do we reject? This is a horrendous situation for nurses to be in."
Pat Cullen, the RCN's general secretary, who visits pickets in Merseyside during the strikes, told members: "To get the talks with the UK government was a breakthrough. After months of ministers touring TV studios behind me saying there was no money, and they could not reopen the current pay deal, they did. It was you, our members, who got them to.
"Over three weeks we certainly asked for much more than what has been offered. The government increased its pay offer each time. But there comes a point in negotiations where you know the other side won’t give any more.
"This is not the first offer either, it's the government’s final offer. The RCN said no to a dozen earlier versions of this to get the government higher."
Unite isn't recommending the government's offer to its members. Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: "Ultimately it is important that our members make the final decision. Unite will support members in whichever decision they now make."
She added: "It is clear that this government does not hold the interest of workers or the NHS at heart. Their behaviour and disdain for NHS workers and workers generally is clear from their actions. Britain has a broken economy and workers are paying the price."
The consultation opens on Tuesday, March 28 and closes on Friday, April 14.
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