Nurses taking Strike Action

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AIBU to believe the public will be supportive of Nurses taking Strike Action ?
Nurses are being asked to vote YES to strike action by the biggest nurses union RCN
www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Involved/Campaign-with-us/Fair-Pay-for-Nursing/Latest-updates

I hope they would be supportive, I will certainly support them.

Nurses clearly deserve far better wages and working conditions

I support strike action

but given the state of the NHS / ridiculously long wait times / difficulties accessing services etc etc

I fear that the public won’t support significant disruption in support of nurses ????

Try being a nurse in the private sector. I didn’t get a pay rise.

Im amazed they haven’t been on strike sooner TBH. Horribly undervalued.

I fully support them. They need and deserve a pay rise after years of pay cuts. These people are literally saving lives every day but their pay doesn't reflect what they do.
Nurses have a system that ensures essential services continue and patients are kept safe during any strike - they don't just abandon patients and all walk out.
If you've been in hospital recently you'll know that there are not enough nurses to give the level of care people need but the government is just ignoring the crisis and won't invest in the workforce that's needed.
Nurses have never gone on strike before, it's not something they will do lightly. Something needs to change.

I'll support nurses striking and think the government and senior NHS bosses should be held to account for anyone who dies a preventable death during the strike periods because that'll absolutely be on them and not the healthcare professionals

Nurses being balloted for strike action in coming weeks has finally hit the daily news !!

I have never known the nursing unions push for strike action like the RCN has been doing in recent months -

i expect nurses will be hugely in favour of strike

My experience was that very few nurses appeared in favour of strike action. Rather than campaign, they left the Uk to nurse abroad , those able opted for early retirement, some for other jobs. Nurse pay in the Uk is low relative to other countries, it’s a tough under appreciated job.

Full support here.

I read this morning they START on 27K!!!!! That's way more than what many people earn. I also think their demands are unreasonable because they want above inflation payrises, which will be paid for by people like me who earn less than they do and get payrises that are significantly less than inflation.

Honestly, the idea terrifies me. But I don't know what else they can do.

I absolutely do not support them. Their pay and conditions are better than those of countless people who work in the private sector (not to mention freelancers, who have no guarantee of anything at all).

Apparently the strikes would "only affect non-urgent care". If you have been on the waiting list for elective surgery for something so painful that it regularly makes you think of taking your own life, and then find out that your date has been scrapped because your operation is not an emergency, you would also have very little sympathy for any strike.

However, what NHS strikes might do is finally kill off the NHS, which is no longer fit for purpose.

@RonaLisa so if their pay and conditions are so great how come it's so hard to retain people in nursing?

I used to work for a state-funded organisation, btw. There was great pressure on us to strike, and I refused - because the only people who actually suffer from strikes are the people who need us to work (when I say I refused, I mean that I crossed the picket line and went to work as normal, and saw the people who needed me to be there).

What on earth are you on about? The average salary in the UK is around £38-39k according to the ONS.

So you think a starting salary of £10k BELOW average for a highly qualified and stressful role is highly paid? If so, I've got a bridge to sell you...

See I don't understand this. People don't go into nursing because they think they will a huge pay packet in this country; they do it because they want to help people. The fact that nurses are leaving this profession in their thousands is surely proof that conditions are not good. Are you friends with any nurses? Because the stories the ones that I know could tell would terrify you. They deal with abusive patients, abusive families of patients, they pay to work (have to pay a registration each year!!), they work long understaffed shifts, some go 12 hours without eating as there isn't time. Nurses have been shouting for years about chronic understaffing; dangerously low staffing levels.

The Tory government have been taking advantage of the good nature of nurses for 12 years; taking advantage of their altruism. But altruism doesn't pay the bills. There are nurses using food banks in this country; it is a total disgrace.

Who cares if you think other people have it worse? It is not a race to the bottom

@RonaLisa If "freelancers" are so envious of pay and conditions as an employee then why don't they go and do said jobs in firms or the public sector?

I support them. People worrying about healthcare for ONE DAY while the nurses are on strike need to long hard think about what healthcare will be available when the nurses have all left because their working conditions are unacceptable and they've had enough of being walked over by the government and people who abuse them at work.

Are those people in comparative jobs and have degree level education. Do they have the same responsibilities of literally having people's lives depending on them? Do they work shifts including Christmas, Easter etc? Do they have to pay professional subscription fees each year? Do they have to undergo many hours of training and study each year to stay qualified - often in their own time?

@Dotjones If you think you are underpaid and/or undervalued then look for another job - you honestly want anyone paid more than you to not get a payrise they deserve?

I would support them

... and? whats your point? MPs start on 84k p.a plus v generous expenses.....

How many lives do they save or improve?

Nurses and other AHP's leave Uni with huge debt, often around 40 to 50k, there is also a shortage of 40k nurses alone in the NHS.

If pay had kept up with inflation since the mid 90s, they'd be on 34k.

I fear that the public won’t support significant disruption in support of nurses ????

Perhaps the public can go out and clap for them? who gives a xxxx! traditional support for nurses hasn't paid their bills.

I'm a nurse and really don't know which way to vote. I don't want to strike. And even if I did get more money working in Tesco, I wouldn't do it.

I support striking workers.

is your bucket uncomfortable? 🦀