Nurses, what result are you expecting from the strike?

[ImEasyLikeSundayMorning]

At work we all assume it will be less than 17% because negotiation is better than strike.

One said the full 17%

Another said she would die of shock if we got 8%

What ate other nurses opinions?

I would be shocked if it was anything near 7% but I didn’t think that the majority would vote to strike so I’ll happily admit to being pessimistic!

I'm half expecting something between 5 and 10 and no strike. Absolutely no one wants a nurses strike and I'll be somewhat (though not totally) surprised if they do actually push us to it

So it's 5% above RPI that the unions are seeking isn't it? I imagine that they won't get the whole 12+5% but you never go in at the amount that you are looking for - especially when you got screwed over last time.

Very little unfortunately.

Especially not in England

Couldn't give less of a toss. My childcare fees mean I'm fucked regardless.

What I WOULD like to see is some proper investment in our services in general. I assess people in ED/wider hospital then refer onwards and it's just demoralising thinking about what you know they should have and what you can actually offer.

I'm not a nurse but a different health care professional. I think the government won't offer anything and will let them strike and then condemn any consequences of strikes to patients. If they do offer anything it won't be near 17%. Anything over 5% would be a surprise to be honest. I am in support of nurses striking for better pay though and hope it all works out much better than I expect!

I can't see how government can offer anything, sadly.

I think if they get anything over 5% the entire of the public sector, front, back office, services etc will strike for the same.

So sadly, whilst fully deserved, I don't think the government can afford anything near 17%

Fuck all and I think the government can absolutely afford it they’re just full of excuses. Most of the NHS pay rise will go back to them in tax one way or another.

And if they invest in proper staffing then they wouldn’t be paying billions for agency staff and billions in negligence claims from bad care due to staff being short staffed therefore overworked and stressed and making bad decisions.

I don't think we will get anything extra..the economy is in dire straits..if they give us more thrn they have to for the others on strike..if they do give us more i suspect taxes will rise to pay for it so we won't be any better off.

@Christmasideafordaddy if they give the nhs this payrise they have to give it to the rest of the public sector. The nhs always seem to get more than other public sector workers and it’s not fair.

@Nw22

Nhs staff aren't responsible for other public sector wages And are often paid less anyway

People seem to forget this. Pay rises do not cost the government as much as they pretend they do.

amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/18/government-pay-rise-cost-nhs-england-staff-report

I am not a nurse (although I was many years ago). The press are concentrating on the pay demands but this is not really just about pay. I still work in the public sector and we have had over a decade of pay cuts, for many they equates to nearly a 20% paycut. For some reason on this country- when times are hard- think the public sector is fair game and we are 'lucky to have a job and all have gold plated pensions'. Strangely enough this does not translate to people thinking it is worth their while retraining as nurses, teachers, social workers etc despite us all having such a great deal. This strike is very much about working conditions, people have had enough. To some extent a lot of people in the public sector have always accepted working for a rate below their market value (pensions, mat leave and sick leave although none of these are as generous as people seem to think). It was always a pay off- but these have been eroded over time.

I have now worked in child protection for nearly two decades. The impacts of the cuts over the time this government has been in power have been catastrophic for the most vulnerable in our society. Local government funding has been slashed (and they are responsible for social care for both adults and children) whilst there has been increasing privatisation through the use of outsourced services. It is not uncommon for a teenage placement for a hard to place young person to cost £8000 a week when we have to accommodate a troubled young person who is assessed as high risk. Services to support and prevent family breakdown are increasingly having to be cut because the funding is not there, LA foster carers/residential placements are not resourced adequately.

Nurses and doctors are in the same position- they are seeing mismanagement, privatisation through the back door and the gas lighting that is the Tory press saying for 12 years there is no money and they are making these hard choices for the good of the collective. Except it has not actually got better for the majority. And despite all the jibes about Labour's magic money tree- they found lots of money to try and keep businesses going, outsource contracts to their mates to produce PPE even if they had no experience or evidence they could deliver and rolled out measures that cost the tax payer millions (probably billions) in fraudulent claims from savvy businesses.

I am sorry- this has turned into a rant but working in the public sector has been relentless for years. Everything is broken and now this government is demonising immigration and because the press is largely right wing they are jumping on it. I have worked in the public sector all my life and the issues we are facing are not because the UK is swamped and we are too full. It is because of the Tory party fetish around low taxes and hating any kind of welfare, even though with a sensible approach this can benefit everyone.

I think they will get 10-12% but to claw back money there will be a rapidly phased in ban on all bank/agency staff.

Oh and its absolutely true these rises don't cost the government what they claim, however what they may do is contribute to inflation remaining high which the government will want to resist.

@AloysiusBear

Huh.

I've not seen any attempt fromthe govt to reduce much much higher wages to help curb inflation

How much of a pay cut are you facing?

I’ve voted to strike, I have no idea how much we will actually get but honestly, anything has to be better than dipping into my savings every month because I can’t afford to cover all my bills and put food on the table on my wage.

I don’t think the govt will give anything at all.

@nw22 I agree, though I'm a back end civil servant so I'm biased and would like a payrise to cover my new childcare fees 😂

I want to see mandatory safe staffing levels which should be a legal requirement. There's no such law like in other countries.

I am band 7 and although on paper I earn a decent wage, for the immense responsibility and breadth of the job that I do, it is nowhere near enough. And as a precious top band 6 I essentially took a pay cut with loss of enhancements when I got promoted. That’s shit and I only took the job because I am passionate about my ward and committed to my job.

I would like to see the end of tuition fees for nursing students in order to improve recruitment and retention and a pay increase above inflation across the board.

I also think there needs to be more regulation of quality, competency and cost of agency staff but I have no idea how that could be done.

I can't see how the government will give us a payrise, I think they will allow the strikes to continue and hope the public turn on us. Have you noticed now we have voted to strike we are personally responsible for delay/death and postponed treatment. Do people still not realise this is happening day in day out. Patients are already coming to harm and likely premature death.

I really wished the RCN have pushed safety first, this has been a really hard decision for nurses. I used to love my job now it's killing me. As a band 6 ward nurse the stress is indescribable. I can't stand to see the poor care we have to give to patients. It has never been this bad. We need legal minimum safe staffing.

My job is making me unwell. I don't know what to do anymore.

Agree with this. If anything, it will be very little. they are already talking about a lot of public sector cuts. If they give Nurses a big pay rise they will likely have to do it for many other public sector workers and there is no money.

Exactly this. I have seen so many posts elsewhere, suggesting that anyone earning upwards of 30k a year should put up and shut up. The reality is that nursing has changed immensely, and is now largely a graduate profession, where many staff have done hours of post grad qualifications and CPD. It carries so much responsibility, and requires a level of expertise that is simply not reflected in the pay.
Nurses are not angels, not greedy, not irresponsible or saintly- just normal people who word hard along a career path and deserve a salary scale that recognises this.
It is particularly galling when we see the pay and increase that politicians get year on bloody year.

Finally, each profession needs to be willing to stand up and fight for their own pay- it is not the responsibility of Nurses to consider the rest of the public sector. Without industrial action we are absolutely toothless, and resigned to accepting the shitty pay forever more.
It is an incredible rewarding career (when resources allow!), and there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to enjoy this whilst also putting a roof over our heads.