Up to 100,000 nursing staff will take part in strikes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland next month, the RCN has confirmed.
Members of the union will take action at half of the locations in England where the legal mandate for strikes was secured in November. The number of NHS employers affected by action will increase in January unless negotiations are held.
There will be strike action at every NHS employer in Wales except one and throughout Northern Ireland.
The strikes will take place on December 15 and 20. The Scottish government has engaged the RCN in negotiations and a separate pay offer has been made.
The union has repeated calls on the UK government to accept its request for negotiations to resolve the dispute over pay and patient safety.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen said:
“Ministers have declined my offer of formal pay negotiations and instead chosen strike action.
“It has left us with no choice but to announce where our members will be going on strike in December.
“Nursing is standing up for the profession and their patients. We’ve had enough of being taken for granted and being unable to provide the care patients deserve.
“Ministers still have the power and the means to stop this by opening negotiations that address our dispute.”
Despite this year's pay award, experienced nurses are worse off by 20% in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.
The Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation (measured by RPI).
The RCN says the economic argument for paying nursing staff fairly is clear when billions of pounds is being spent on agency staff to plug workforce gaps.
Also, independent research commissioned by the RCN has shown the Exchequer would recoup 81% of the initial outlay of a significant pay rise in terms of higher tax receipts and savings on future recruitment and retention costs.
In the last year, 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. Poor pay contributes to staff shortages across the UK, affecting patient safety. There are 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in England’s NHS alone.
Ends
Notes to Editors
Royal College of Nursing members working on Agenda for Change contracts at the following employers will take strike action on December 15 and 20:
England
East Midlands Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
East Midlands NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
East Midlands Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
East Midlands Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
East Midlands Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Eastern Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Eastern Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Eastern Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
Eastern Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
Eastern NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB
Eastern Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
London Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation
Trust
London Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
London Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
London NHS North Central London ICB
London Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
North West Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
North West Health Education England
North West Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Found Trust
North West Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
North West Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
North West Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
North West The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Found Trust
North West The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Northern Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Northern Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Northern The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South East Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
South East Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South East Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
South West Devon Partnership NHS Trust
South West Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
South West Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South West Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South West NHS Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB
(BSW Together)
South West NHS Devon ICB (One Devon)
South West NHS Gloucestershire ICB (One Gloucestershire)
South West North Bristol NHS Trust
South West Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
South West Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
South West Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
South West University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation
Trust
South West University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
West Midlands Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust
West Midlands Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS
Trust
West Midlands NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB)
West Midlands The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
West Midlands University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
West Midlands Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Yorkshire & Humber Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Yorkshire & Humber Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Yorkshire & Humber NHS England
Yorkshire & Humber The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Wales
Wales Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Wales Powys Teaching Local Health Board
Wales Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Headquarters
Wales Hywel Dda University Health Board
Wales Swansea Bay University Health Board
Wales Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Wales Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board
Wales Velindre NHS Trust
Wales Public Health Wales
Wales Health Education and Improvement Wales Health Authority
Wales NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Wales Digital Health and Care Wales
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council
Northern Ireland Southern Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Western Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Business Services Organisation
Northern Ireland Regulation & Quality Improvement Authority
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service
Northern Ireland Public Health Agency
Northern Ireland Northern Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
