RCN announces new 48-hour nursing strike from 30 April after members vote to reject pay offer by 54% RCN members have voted to reject the government’s pay offer, PA Media reports. PA says: The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that its members will walk out for 48 hours from 8pm on 30 April, without any derogations, which means nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care will be taking industrial action for the first time. The escalation followed a 54% vote to reject an offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year. The turnout among RCN members employed on NHS Agenda for Change contracts in England was 61%. The move followed an earlier announcement by Unison that its NHS members had accepted the same offer by 74% on a turnout of 53%. Unison’s head of health, Sarah Gorton, said the vote did not solve the “staffing emergency” in the NHS. RCN general secretary Pat Cullen has written to health secretary Steve Barclay to seek urgent re-opening of talks with the government. Afternoon summary Nurses in England will go back out on strike for two days later this month after rejecting the government’s pay deal. Civil service unions in the UK have warned of a fresh wave of industrial action, after the government announced that pay rises would be limited to 4.5% to 5%, in a move dismissed by union leaders as “insulting”. Conservative MPs with wafer-thin margins who pulled off shock victories in the 2019 election will be allowed to stand in other seats after the party designated them “displaced”. This is from Shaun Lintern, health editor at the Sunday Times. Tory former health minister Dan Poulter urges government to improve pay offer to nurses Steve Barclay has been urged by a Tory MP who also practices as an NHS hospital doctor to reopen negotiations and boost the pay offer to nurses, in light of the RCN ballot. Dan Poulter, a former health minister, told the Guardian it was “clear that for many NHS staff, a pay increase which is below the cost of living and below pay increases made to workers in the private sector was not enough”. He voiced hopes that the government “listens to the voice of nursing, leaves the current offer on the table and improves upon it”. Given fears about the impact of the 48-hour walkout by the RCN across England later this month, Poulter warned the NHS “cannot ensure months more of industrial action”. He added: From a healthcare economics perspective, it would be better to improve on the current deal to ensure that nurses stay working in the NHS rather than leaving for more lucrative private healthcare jobs or to earn more money by working as agency staff. Pat Cullen, the RCN general secretary, told Sky News that after the new strike by nurses planned for the end of April (see 5.02pm) the union would ballot its members again, to get a fresh mandate for strike action over the next six months. Asked if she was disappointed that members rejected the pay deal, even though the union leadership had recommended they accept it, she said: “We have always said as a college, and a ruling council, that we would listen to our members. Our members have made that decision today.” She also said it was important for the government not to take the current offer off the table. “They need to leave that on the table and add to it,” she said. RCN"s decision to hold further strike will be "hugely concerning" for patients, says government The government has described the RCN vote against accepting the pay offer as “hugely disappointing”. And it says the union’s decision to hold a further strike will be “hugely concerning” for patients. A government spokesperson said: It is hugely disappointing that the Royal College of Nursing membership has rejected the pay deal recommended by their leadership. Following constructive discussions, all parties agreed this was a fair and generous offer which is demonstrated by Unison, representing the largest share of the NHS workforce, choosing to accept it. The fact that the Royal College of Nursing has announced an escalation in strike action with no derogations, based on a vote from the minority of the nursing workforce, will be hugely concerning for patients. Hundreds of thousands of Agenda for Change staff continue to vote in ballots for other unions over the next two weeks and we hope this generous offer secures their support. RCN leader Pat Cullen tells government nursing strikes will continue unless they get "significantly improve" pay offer Pat Cullen, the RCN general secretary, has told Steve Barclay, the health secretary, that nurses will continue with their strike action unless they get a “significantly improved offer”. In a letter to Barclay she said: What has been offered to date is simply not enough. The government needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it. Since our talks in February, we have seen the pressures on the NHS continue to increase. The crisis in our health and care services cannot be addressed without significant action that addresses urgent recruitment and retention issues and nursing pay to bring this dispute to a close urgently. Until there is a significantly improved offer, we are forced back to the picket line. Meetings alone are not sufficient to prevent strike action and I will require an improved offer as soon as possible. In February, you opened negotiations directly with me and I urge you to do the same now. After a historic vote to strike, our members expect a historic pay award. RCN announces new 48-hour nursing strike from 30 April after members vote to reject pay offer by 54% RCN members have voted to reject the government’s pay offer, PA Media reports. PA says: The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that its members will walk out for 48 hours from 8pm on 30 April, without any derogations, which means nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care will be taking industrial action for the first time. The escalation followed a 54% vote to reject an offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year. The turnout among RCN members employed on NHS Agenda for Change contracts in England was 61%. The move followed an earlier announcement by Unison that its NHS members had accepted the same offer by 74% on a turnout of 53%. Unison’s head of health, Sarah Gorton, said the vote did not solve the “staffing emergency” in the NHS. RCN general secretary Pat Cullen has written to health secretary Steve Barclay to seek urgent re-opening of talks with the government. On the subject of voting in the local elections in England, there is still time to apply for a postal vote. The deadline is next Tuesday (18 April). You need to fill in this form, and then send it to your local electoral registration office (which you can find here). Unison calls for "whole new approach" to setting NHS pay after vote to accept government"s offer In her statement in response to the vote to accept the pay offer (see 4.07pm), Sara Gorton, Unison’s head of health also said the long-running dispute showed that a new approach to pay was needed. She said: This vote might end Unison’s dispute, but it doesn’t solve the wider staffing emergency affecting every part of the NHS. Now, the government must work with unions to bring about a sustained programme of investment in the workforce. Lessons must also be learned. The mistakes of the past few months cannot be repeated. It’s time for a whole new approach to setting pay across the NHS. DUP boycott of Stormont only proves Sinn Féin"s point that Northern Ireland "failed political entity", says leading unionist One of the architects of the Good Friday agreement, Ulster Unionist peer Lord Empey, has said the DUP must “face up to new realities” and return to power-sharing in Northern Ireland. In a statement Empey, who worked alongside David Trimble in the UUP negotiating team 25 years ago, said: The DUP boycott of Stormont has failed. Their seven tests are hardly mentioned anymore, because they have not been met. Empey said Brexit was “disastrously negotiated” but that the DUP has got to be pragmatic and get back into government. To proceed with a continuing boycott [of power-sharing] makes no sense. Making Stormont and Northern Ireland not work has to be the very opposite of what is in pro-union interests. Sinn Féin have long argued that ‘Northern Ireland is a failed political entity’. What is the logic behind any unionist action that helps to prove Sinn Féin’s point? Health workers from Unison vote to accept government"s pay offer - with 74% in favour NHS workers from Unison have voted to accept the government’s pay offer, the union has announced. Of those voting, 74% were in favour. In a statement, the union said: The consultation of 288,000 NHS workers across England closed at 3pm this afternoon. Almost three-quarters (74%) voted to accept the offer, and 26% to reject. Turnout in the consultation exercise was 53%, with 152,329 votes cast. Of these 112,458 voted yes, and 39,871 no. Unison had recommended acceptance of the offer, which came out of the pay talks involving unions, employers and ministers earlier that month. The offer covers two pay years – an additional one-off amount for 2022/23 and a 5% wage rise (10.4% for the lowest paid) for 2023/24. And Sara Gorton, Unison’s head of health (who is also the union chair on the NHS Staff Council), said: Clearly health workers would have wanted more, but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation. Over the past few weeks, health workers have weighed up what’s on offer. They’ve opted for the certainty of getting the extra cash in their pockets soon. It’s a pity it took several months of strike action before the government would commit to talks. Unions told ministers last summer the £1,400 pay rise wasn’t enough to stop staff leaving the NHS, nor to prevent strikes. But they didn’t want to listen. Instead, health workers were forced to strike, losing money they could ill afford. The NHS and its patients suffered months of unnecessary disruption. Other unions are still consulting so the full picture won’t emerge until the end of the month. Unison will be urging the government to ensure NHS workers get the wage rises they’ve voted for at the earliest opportunity.