NHS Nursing Pay: Where We Are Now, After RCN Rejects Deal

The NHS pay story took another turn after the Royal College of Nursing union (RCN) rejected the government’s pay offer.

Here’s a brief update on where we are, and what this latest news means for NHS nurses.

Unison Says Yes, RCN Says No

The RCN isn’t the only major nursing union.

Unison also represents thousands of nurses (it’s the largest healthcare union in the UK), and Unison accepted the latest pay deal – which was a 5% increase, in addition to a one-off payment of at least £1655.

But the RCN have now rejected the same deal.

That means the pay negotiations are ongoing.

What Happens Next?

The RCN vote was 54% to 46% in favour of rejecting. The Unison vote was overwhelming in favour of accepting the deal.

That means the situation is now more divided and complex than ever. The majority of nurses accepted the deal, but a big enough minority of nurses didn’t.

The government will now likely submit a revised offer, but how much more generous it will be is difficult to predict – as is whether it will be accepted.

The situation is now more divided and complex than ever… we don’t know how the public and press will interpret these latest developments – or how much that will affect the outcome.

Further Strikes Announced

In addition to rejecting the pay deal, the RCN has also announced more strikes.

There will be a 48-hour walkout from 8pm on 30 April until 8pm on 2 May.

Inevitably, this would be highly damaging to services that are already stretched.

Importantly, we don’t know how the public and press will interpret these latest developments – or how much that will affect the outcome.

For now, the only certainty is uncertainty.

What’s Your View?

As always, the most important view is that of our nursing community.

So how did you vote? And what increase do you believe is fair?