Nurses vote to take industrial action including strike action
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, including strike action, over the nurse staffing crisis and pay. This is the first time in the history of the organisation that RCN members have voted to take strike action.
96% of those members who returned their ballot papers voted to take industrial action short of a strike, and 92% voted for strike action. The ballot involved RCN members working under Agenda for Change terms and conditions within Health and Social Care [HSC] in Northern Ireland.
The RCN UK Council will meet early next week to approve plans to take forward industrial action, including strike action, across HSC services in Northern Ireland.
RCN Northern Ireland Director Pat Cullen said:
“Today, nursing staff in Northern Ireland have spoken clearly and collectively on behalf of patients and the people of Northern Ireland.
"Nurses are no longer willing to see patients being denied the healthcare services to which they are entitled. The 3,000 nursing vacancies that currently exist within the HSC are having a detrimental impact on patient care and adding enormous pressure to the existing nursing workforce, who are doing everything they can to care for patients.
“Nurses’ pay in Northern Ireland has fallen significantly behind that in the rest of the UK. Not only is this completely unfair but it sends a strong message to nurses that they are not valued or respected by decision-makers and employers.
"Equally importantly, it makes it difficult to recruit and retain the nurses that we desperately need to provide healthcare to the people of Northern Ireland. If we continue to treat nurses in this way, the health and social care system in Northern Ireland will move rapidly from crisis to collapse.”
RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said:
“This is a day we had hoped not to reach, and the first time RCN members have voted to strike in our 103 year history. We did not take the decision to ballot members lightly. But the fact that nurses in Northern Ireland have now voted so overwhelmingly for industrial action, including strike action, shows how clearly they can see the risk to patient safety from staff shortages.
“In addition, the fact that the real value of nurses’ pay in Northern Ireland has fallen by around 15% in the last eight years is a fundamental unfairness that must be urgently addressed. Patients hugely value the care nursing staff provide, but it’s clear that health service leaders in Northern Ireland do not.
“This overwhelming result is a tribute to the hard work undertaken by RCN members and staff in Northern Ireland. Our governing Council will now meet to approve plans to take forward industrial action, including strike action, in Northern Ireland”.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.
2. The ballot was carried out by post between 9th October and 6th November 2019. All RCN members working in the HSC (Health and Social Care) service in Northern Ireland were eligible to vote. The ballot was independently conducted and scrutinised on behalf of the College by Electoral Reform Services (ERS).
3. The two questions posed on the ballot paper were:
“In pursuance of the RCN claim for measures to address the recruitment and retention nursing crisis, and fair pay and reward, in Northern Ireland:
Question 1:
Are you prepared to take part in industrial action short of a strike? (which for this purpose includes but is not necessarily limited to refusing to carry out non-nursing duties, refusing to work unpaid excess hours, refusing to participate in non-urgent administration tasks, non-participation in bank work on designated days). (96.4% voted yes to this question)
Question 2:
Are you prepared to take part in industrial action consisting of strike action?
(91.9% voted yes to this question)
4 An RCN campaign leaflet, setting out the growing inequalities in pay for Northern Ireland nurses compared with colleagues in the rest of the UK as from 1 April 2019, can be downloaded here.
