Before taking action hard work to be done

RCN members in Scotland are on the brink of joining fellow members in Northern Ireland, Wales and England in taking historic strike action. It will be the first time in the RCN’s 106-year history that members in Scotland will have gone out on strike.

We plan, early in the New Year, to announce dates for strike action, but before we get to taking action there is a lot of hard work to be done.

The planning for strike action must be thorough. The safety of patients and of our members - whether they are taking action or continuing to work in roles or services exempt from taking strike action to maintain life-preserving staffing levels, known as ‘derogation’ – is paramount. Any strike action should be disruptive, but we will do everything we can to avoid putting patients or our members at risk.

While it is the responsibility of NHS employers to maintain life preserving care, we will be working closely with them to agree derogations once the dates for action have been confirmed. This work is done through the local Industrial Dispute/Strike Committee. We will need to set these committees up in advance of any planned strike action – work has already begun to identify RCN members and RCN staff to sit on these committees.

Sites for picket lines need to be identified and picket supervisors need to be trained to safely manage a picket on the day of action. Work must also be done to notify members about strike action in their area, how it will affect them on the day and what they can expect either on a picket line or in a derogated role.

If you are an RCN member working in the NHS in Scotland, you probably have questions about what strike action will mean for you. We will be providing more information to members in the coming weeks but for now you can find out more in the RCN Industrial Action Handbook and in the FAQs section in our strike hub.