Nurses in England reject government pay deal

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The Royal College of Nursing said on Monday that its members in England had rejected a pay award described by UK chancellor Rachel Reeves as the first “meaningful” uplift for public sector workers since 2010.

Reeves, speaking at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, defended her decision in July to back above-inflation pay rises for many public sector workers, despite strains on the public finances.

“I am proud to stand here as the first chancellor in 14 years to have delivered a meaningful real pay rise to millions of public sector workers,” she said in a set-piece address to conference, calling it “the right choice for the British public” and for recruitment and retention.

Within minutes of her speech, however, the RCN said its members had voted by a two-thirds majority to reject the NHS offer of a 5.5 per cent pay rise for 2024/25, which is set to be reflected in monthly pay from October.

Nicola Ranger, the RCN’s general secretary, said in a letter to health secretary Wes Streeting that the results of the ballot showed that members’ expectations of government were “far higher”.

“Our members do not yet feel valued and they are looking for urgent action, not rhetorical commitments,” the letter continued, calling for action to address “understaffed shifts, poor patient care and nursing careers trapped at the lowest pay grades”.

The vote is a sign of growing disquiet in union ranks at Labour’s approach to economic policy, with many angry that Reeves has made it her priority to shore up the public finances — including by cutting winter fuel payments to pensioners — rather than taking immediate action to tackle poverty.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, told the FT earlier this month that this year’s public sector pay deals — while a positive move to “reset” relations with unions — were only “a first step” in solving a long-term recruitment and retention crisis.

The government has now agreed generous settlements to end long-running pay disputes with doctors and train drivers, as well as accepting the public sector pay review bodies’ recommendations on pay for NHS staff, teachers, police, armed forces and prison officers this year.

Unison, the largest NHS union, won members’ agreement that the pay deal was “enough to move on” even if it did not meet all their objectives. The GMB, which represents ambulance workers, is still balloting its members.

But the RCN has been more critical, drawing a contrast between the 5.5 per cent that will apply to nurses, and the uplift of more than 20 per cent junior doctors are set to receive over two years.

It said 145,000 of its members working for the NHS in England had voted, with 64 per cent rejecting the award. The consultative vote could pave the way for a separate, statutory ballot on strike action.

“We’ve been pretty certain for a while that the RCN will try to get member support for new strike action. So, we think this is the first phase of that,” said one health official.

They added: “The nurses are very angry by all accounts, given the higher than expected settlements for junior doctors and consultants.”

Strike action is already brewing elsewhere in the public sector, however. Unison, Unite and the GMB are all balloting their members among council workers and school support staff — whose pay is negotiated with local government, and is not covered by the public sector pay review bodies.