Despite it being early in 2024, we were pleased to have secured a hard-won success for the region. After a great many months of endeavour, we finally have a positive outcome to the long-running pay dispute for our members on the Isle of Man. Through a combination of targeted activism, engagement with the public and industrial action, our members were able to solicit an improved offer for each of the years that were under dispute with employer Manx Care. I am enormously proud of the members and the RCN staff who supported them in their fight for fair pay. We await the outcome of the ballots or surveys of the membership of other involved unions before the 2023/24 settlement of 6% can, hopefully, be finalised and our members receive the back pay they have long awaited.
In reflecting on last year’s industrial action, I was struck by a television documentary I recently saw about the ‘Miners’ Strike’ of 1984. At that time, I was a young community practitioner in the North East and I witnessed the impact this action had on families and communities. Memories came flooding back as I recalled driving through streets occupied by armd vehicles, mounted police and picket lines that were emotionally charged and often punctuated with physical assaults, injury and arrest. The personal and financial losses the mners experienced were significant. Communities fell apart as homelessness and worklessness followed, and business were forced to close.
I contrasted this with the experience of the RCN members on picket lines and the fight for Fair Pay. I am grateful that our members and communities were spared my early and scarring experience of industrial action. I know that those of you who joined the picket lines sacrificed a great deal to do this, and I want to thank you all, including those who worked in derogated roles.
As if our ongoing issues with Westminster over pay were not enough, workers now face a serious threat to their democratic rights as the government seeks to stifle the right to public protest and industrial action with changes to the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act. Chipping away at these rights is an insidious attack on our freedoms and we must use our collective voices to push back against these proposals. I urge you most sincerely to read our news story on the topic and to take action. This is not a fight that can be left to other people to undertake, we must all have our say.
These rights are under threat, and we know that when we stand together, nurses’ voices have made a difference. We need to preserve the right to do so on behalf of our service users, our colleagues and the communities we serve. In a general election year, it is more important than ever to communicate with the people who represent you in Westminster, or those who hope to do so. So much of our political discourse nowadays is depressingly extreme, with political point scoring taking the place of healthy and productive debate. It can make you feel that politicians are ‘all as bad as each other’ and that there is nothing to choose between them. To that I would say to look for the deal breaker in your beliefs – the policy or the cause that for you matters more than any other, and vote for the candidate/party which most closely meets your own ideals. Whoever you decide is worthy of your vote, I beg you to ensure that you do use it. So many before us fought so hard for the right to have a democratic voice. Let us not imperil that chance for future generations by not participating now.
Naturally, pay and conditions for our profession are at the forefront of the minds of many of us and just this week, after Council and TUC approval, we submitted our evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body. You can read more about how NHS pay is decided and what we are asking for in our article here. We continue to fight hard for safe staffing levels, demanding a premium on recruitment and retention specifically for nursing, and make clear our requirement for a just and restorative pay rise. We also welcome the ongoing consultation on a separate pay spine for nursing staff in the NHS and choose to remain hopeful that this may yield positive action in the months ahead.
On a similar subject, we have been consulting trusts across the region regarding the ongoing issues faced by our Nursing Support Workers regarding their pay banding. If this applies to you, look out for our email in the coming week to update you on the position within your own trust. You can read more about this piece of work here.
Looking ahead, we continue to plan for Congress 2024 in Newport, Wales. Look out for communications from us in the coming week regarding additional funded places which will help towards travel and accommodation expenses, or in the meantime book your free place to attend here.
To close, I would remind you to take what time you can to enjoy the lighter, warmer days ahead when spring finally arrives. These moments allow us to decompress from the strain that our increasing workloads and dwindling staffing levels subject us to and are vital to our health and wellbeing. As always, I urge you to take care of yourself before you try to care for others.
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