There’s been a wave of support for nurses planning to take strike action for the first time ever in Wales as the row over pay in the profession continues.
It was reported on Tuesday that voting will start next month on whether nurses will strike in what would represent a “defining moment” for nursing in Wales and in England. The ballot will open on September 15 for a period of four weeks, and if Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members support strike action, it will be the first ever strike of its kind in both countries. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
The college has called for a pay rise for nursing staff of 5% above RPI inflation, which is currently 11.8%. The Welsh Government has confirmed that all NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts - including nurses, cleaners, porters, healthcare support workers and healthcare professionals - will get a £1,400 pay rise on most pay grades. The RCN said this leaves an experienced nurse over £1,000 worse off in real terms.
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Richard Jones MBE, RCN Wales Board Chair, said: “To say that this pay award is well below our expectations is an understatement. This does absolutely nothing to recruit and retain nursing professionals. "How can the Welsh Government say that they value nursing when we have members living on the poverty line? It’s not acceptable. I’ve been a nurse for more than 50 years and I’ve never seen it this bad.” You can read more about the situation here.
The notion of nurses striking has been met with support from members of the public reacting to the idea, with most arguing that hospital staff do deserve a greater pay rise offer. Taichi Helen commented on a WalesOnline article: "How can this government give tax cuts to the very richest and not give our most deserving a pay rise?”
Barrie Evans was puzzled about where exactly taxpayers’ money goes. He said: “I would like to say I’m shocked by ridiculously long waiting lists and cancelled operations, but the NHS is just so oversubscribed and under resourced these days that it is a foregone conclusion in a system operating well over its budget.
“What I can’t understand is there are 68 million people in this country, all of whom in various ways pay taxes. Taxes on what they earn, taxes on what they spend, taxes on what they save. You’re even taxed again when you die on what ever wealth you might leave behind, even though it has already been taxed many, many times already. Taxes all increase pro rata year on year. So where is all that money going? All you hear is cuts, cuts and more cuts.”
Andrew EJ said: “The nurses have my support. Time for bankers, large corporations, large shareholders, billionaires and millionaires to make more of a fair contribution.” Meanwhile, Leeann Summers said: “I can sympathise with the nurses as they work hard to get a qualification and study long and hard and work long shifts, and some end up going to food banks. This shouldn’t happen, better pay instead of clapping would go a long way.”
Susan Hayman said: “Everyone should stand by nurses They’ve had the most stressful, hard work of any profession even before Covid with the NHS underfunding. All they got was a clap for their work and a teeny weeny pay rise which is really a pay cut with inflation. They have bills to pay like the rest of us.”
Karen Davies-Morgan agreed, adding: “They shouldn’t have to strike to be paid more money - they all deserve it and so much more, all NHS staff should be appreciated much more. Take the money off all fat cat politicians and give it to real workers and lifesavers.” Sara Grinter said that “hopefully everyone who’s eligible to vote will vote and maybe then we can get the ball rolling”, while Lee Williams agreed by saying “I fully support them, nurses have been underpaid and overworked for far too long.”.
There were some people who thought that nurses were already adequately paid and that strike action should not be necessary. Dave Crooke said: “I think they think money grows on trees. They are not the only people suffering financially, there are an awful lot of hard working people earning less - a fully trained soldier is on 5k a year less.” Meanwhile, Jonathan Evans said: “If as a result of any walk outs or strikes someone dies or is seriously affected due to lack of nursing staff then the nursing unions should be sued for every penny they have and any sympathy the public has for nurses will be lost forever. They deserve a pay rise along with millions in the private sector but striking is not the answer.”
Nicholas Kropacek asked: “They have decent pay and their jobs were secure throughout the lockdown. Who do you think pays their salaries? A sky fairy?”, while Warren Smith said: “I worked right through lockdown for minimum wage. Got abuse of customers and put my family and myself at risk every day, as did my work colleagues. I have respect for our NHS staff but I don’t agree with them going on strike. It’s awful and very dangerous.”
With regards to the potential strike action, British Medical Association Cymru Wales chair, Dr David Bailey, said: “This award (the pay rise already offered) amounts to nothing more than a pay cut, and it comes at a time when doctors have endured years of below inflation pay rises and are being driven out of the NHS due to perverse, punitive pension rules. The timing of this pay cut could not be worse. Doctors have gone above and beyond throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to care for patients, putting themselves and their families’ lives at risk in the process.
“On top of that, they are working in an under-staffed, under-funded service and are now expected to deal with the longest waiting lists on record while paying the price for their commitment during the last two years, with high levels of exhaustion and burnout. It is easy to see why doctors are leaving the NHS at an alarming rate.”
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