Over 300,000 nurses on brink of first ever NHS walk-out in a row over pay
NURSES are on the brink of their first ever NHS walk-out in a row over pay.
Union bosses are urging their 300,000 members to say “enough is enough” as strike ballots open today.
Nursing leaders say take home pay has fallen by six per cent in ten years, forcing staff to use food banks or quit the NHS.
Ministers have offered a £1,400 pay increase — a nine per cent rise for the lowest paid and four per cent for senior staff.
Unions are demanding a 15 per cent pay boost for nurses and midwives.
Royal College of Nursing boss Pat Cullen said: “Governments have repeatedly neglected the NHS and the value of nursing.
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“We can change this if together we say ‘enough is enough’.
“Record numbers are feeling no alternative but to quit and patients pay a heavy price. We are doing this for them too.”
It is the first time in the Royal College of Nursing's 106-year history it has asked members to vote on strike action.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Industrial action is a matter for unions.
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“We urge them to consider the potential impacts on patients.”
Meanwhile, some 999 call handlers will join BT call centre workers and Openreach engineers in a strike today.
Around 30,000 Openreach engineers and 10,000 BT staff will walk out in opposition to BT Group’s flat-rate pay rise of £1,500 — branded a “dramatic real-terms pay cut” by the Communication Workers Union.