Taking a stand for the nursing profession and patient care

Our ballot for members employed by the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland will open on 6 October. This strike ballot is a historic moment for our profession – and I know, when you vote, it will be a decision that you will not take lightly. We are encouraging you to vote to strike – to take this opportunity to demand fair pay that recognises the skill and safety-critical nature of our profession, and that encourages people to join and stay in nursing.  

This ballot gives you an opportunity to take a lead for nursing, for our patients and say to governments across the UK – enough is enough. At the heart of this ballot is our demand for safe nurse staffing levels – with vacancies in health and social care at an all-time high, we need to attract more people into the profession so we can give patients the care we were trained to deliver and that they deserve. 

The pressures you face at work are unsustainable – caused by increasing demands on services and a lack of staff, made worse by years of underinvestment by successive governments. And the pressures you now face in your personal life too are causing you to question whether you can afford to stay in the profession you love – a cost-of-living crisis made worse by a government with the wrong economic priorities.  

For those members who are not employed by the NHS, this is your fight too. We are campaigning for fair pay for all our members, no matter what setting or sector you are employed in. Nursing staff in independent health and care organisations deserve pay, terms and conditions that at least matches your colleagues in the NHS and we will continue to call for pay parity between the NHS and every other setting. 

Across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, our reps, activists and staff continue to talk to members in workplaces about the upcoming ballot. In Scotland, we have two upcoming opportunities for members to show your strength of feeling on safe staffing, the workforce crisis and pay directly to politicians. On 6 October, reps and members will be gathering outside the Scottish parliament to mark the ballot launch and we are encouraging Members of the Scottish Parliament to come out to meet you first-hand to hear your. And on 8 October, members can join RCN Scotland Director Colin Poolman outside the Scottish National Party Autumn Conference in Aberdeen to demonstrate for fair pay and safe staffing. Find out more about both events and join us. 

In Wales this week, many of our reps and other members attended a Listen to Nursing event with Members of the Senedd where 20 Members of the Senedd representing all the political parties attended to learn more about nursing roles, staffing levels and our fight for fair pay.  This event coincided with the Senedd debate we had triggered by reaching more than 10,000 signatures on our ‘For the Full Team’ petition – calling for the Welsh Government to extend the Nurse Staffing Levels Act to apply to all settings where nursing care is delivered – starting with community nursing and mental health inpatient wards. 

And finally, this week RCN staff have continued to meet new nursing students at universities across the UK and we have welcomed many into RCN membership. Student members who are also employed by the NHS on an Agenda for Change contract can vote in the upcoming ballot. Update your details to receive your ballot paper.