Members of the Royal College of Nursing have said that the government’s 3.6% pay award is not enough, and if agreement is not reached over the summer, the union will escalate to a ballot for industrial action.
In England, 91% said 3.6% was not enough to turn around a struggling profession gripped by widespread vacancies or keep patients safe amid an NHS corridor care crisis. Turnout was 56%.
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Over 90% of nurses in Wales voted against the pay deal, while nearly 80% in Northern Ireland also rejected it.
The RCN believes the votes clearly demonstrate the need for governments to deliver swift investment in nursing, including by delivering long-overdue reforms to the broken pay structure.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Record numbers have delivered this verdict on a broken system that holds back nursing pay and careers, and hampers the NHS.
“As a safety-critical profession, keeping hold of experienced nursing staff is fundamentally a safety issue and key to the government’s own vision for the NHS. Long-overdue reforms to nursing career progression and the NHS pay structure aren’t just about fairness and equity but are critical for patient safety.”
Speaking on what needs to happen next, she added: “You and your colleagues need true reform on nursing pay that gives you the opportunities you deserve. You need to see changes that make a difference to you, your peers and your patients.
“This won’t be immediate. It will be hard work, but with our collective strength, we can achieve so much. This consultation was a big step towards showing governments our true value.”
The RCN has told ministers in England to use the summer to reach an agreement, or face formal escalation to dispute and a ballot for industrial action.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “After receiving two above-inflation pay rises from this government, new full-time nurses will earn £30,000 in basic pay for the first time this year, so it’s disappointing that RCN members are dissatisfied with this year’s pay rise.
“We hugely value the work of nurses, and through our 10-Year Health Plan, we are rebuilding the NHS for the benefit of patients and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice.
“This government is clear we can’t move any further on headline pay but will work with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns on career progression and wider working conditions.”
In Wales, the RCN is pushing for meaningful discussions with the cabinet secretary for health and social care and considering next steps.
RCN Wales executive director Helen Whyley said: “Nursing staff deserve to be listened to. The commitments made in 2023 of pay restoration and reviewing career progression have become government rhetoric and made no impact on our members’ reality.
“Coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, and the moral injury many of our members face on a daily basis when caring for patients in inappropriate environments you can clearly see that nursing pay reform is a patient safety issue that is in the government’s power to change.”
Staff on Agenda for Change contracts in England and Wales will receive the 3.6% consolidated uplift backdated to April 2025 in their August salaries.
In Northern Ireland, no funding has been made available by the Northern Ireland Executive to award the 3.6% uplift that the Northern Ireland health minister has said he wants to pay.
RCN Northern Ireland executive director, Professor Rita Devlin, said: “Despite being told we deserve the same 3.6% pay award which nursing staff in England and Wales are already receiving, we have yet to have confirmation of when and indeed if this will happen. Make no mistake, inaction over pay will not be accepted.”
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