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?

Agree with PPs that the government will offer nothing. Nurses will strike for half a day then all will return to the same ol' shit grind.

I think if you offered all HCAs and same band AHP 25,000 and all nurses and same band AHPs £35, 000 per year starting, the UK would be rolling in staff (I'm not including London weighting in these) but it's not going to happen though, fortunately.

A friend of mine has taken early retirement as a band 7 because her mental health has been destroyed by the bureaucracy and bullying in her department. She works in oncology and cannot take anymore abuse from the hierarchy…people really need to support the nurse more than ever .

I mean unfortunately!!!

The news has made quite a fuss about 3bn being spent in England this year on agency staff often at 3x their NHS pay rate. The agency will also be getting rich.
Worth 50k extra nurses.

I'd settle for more invested in services/staff and a smaller pay rise. Not sure what to expect but not a lot! People don't get the level of responsibility we have and that working so stretched like we are will cost/is costing lives. With safe staffing levels things are much more manageable but we are so far away from that.

I can't see the govt offering anything.

If the threat of striking (or even actual striking) achieves it's aim then it's likely to set off a wave of strikes from other workers.

Nurses are in the agenda for change pay scales, as well as many other staff in the NHS, including non-clinical. This includes me.

not sure how the rise can just be given to nurses without allocating the rise to the rest of the agenda for change staff.

I’m not a nurse but I’m glad they’re striking. The nurses I know work their arses off, work long shifts and unsociable shifts. I absolutely would not do the job for what they get paid. I know one with some kind of specialist role (I’m sure there’s a proper term) that seems to earn well but it’s a very high pressured role and she has been a nurse for a very long time.

I would happily see nurses paid more and higher taxation for larger earners.

It won't be a pay rise just for nurses. The RCN is just the only union to have delivered a result of the ballot yet. Other unions, Physiotherapy, Midwifery, UNISON etc are still pending.

If (IF) there is a pay rise from this, it will be for everyone. The media headlines just love to write about nurses for some reason, especially if we're getting paid £2500 for agency shifts 🤣🤣🤣

(Disclaimer, I don't know anyone who gets paid that much for an agency shift, actually tell a lie I might know one nurse who might be able to earn something close to that, but she is a band 8something nurse consultant with a very niche set of skills).

Nurses, is it correct that you got 3% last year plus a payout of £1400? Some of the lowest paid got 9.3% increase? Please confirm whether or not this was the case.

I worked out last night that since 2010, nurses at the top of band 5 have had an average pay rise of something like 1.6% each year.

I think we'll get fucked over with something that sounds better than it actually is, like that 3 year pay deal we had a few years ago, which even the unions didn't realise was a load of shite until they'd signed on the line, and then issued us with a written apology 🤣.

I also expect that we'll get fucked over with the pension (again).

@willstarttomorrow Very well said.

And as a precious top band 6 I essentially took a pay cut with loss of enhancements when I got promoted

Can you explain this? Why are Band 6 precious? Why did you take a pay cut to become a Bank 7?

I
Im not a nurse anymore but how is this going to work because its not just nurses in rhe banding system ,is it an NHS.pay rise you are fighting for?
When i was a nurse i remember the labour government saying they had given nurses a 9% payrise ,this was before Agenda for change ,what they had actualy done was given all Top E grades ( roughly equivalent to Band fives ) a 9 % payrise

No. It was a minimum of £1400 increase for everyone.

Top of band 5 pay went from £31,534 to £32,934, so they just lazily stuck the minimum £1400 on it. An increase of just over 4% for the top of band 5, but then pension contributions also went up by 0.5%. The pension contribution rate actually increased more for the lower paid bands, and less for the top bands. Go figure.

@Hobnobsandbroomstick that’s what I mean. I’d prefer nurses and clinical staff to benefit. I’m an 8c, I don’t think it would be fair for me to benefit.

@Shinyandnew1

They obviously meant previous band 6. And it's a pay cut because when you move up a grade you move from the top of 1 band to the bottom (roughly) of the next band.

Band 7s rarely do nights or weekends so they will also have lost all their enhanced pay. Meaning a technical pay cuT

Most band 7,s ime only work office hours ,so they wouldnt get weekend and night enhancements which can boost basic pay quite a bit .

I'm guessing precious is a typo for previous, but could be wrong 🤣.

I recently moved from top of band 5 (not very precious 🤣) to a band 6 role, and am financially worse off. The difference between basic pay (no antisocial hours etc) of top band 5 and bottom band 6 is an extra £33.78 a month for me, after student loan pension contributions. As a band 5, I worked evenings, weekends, holidays etc. As a band 6 I would be happy to still do this, but they don't want to pay me. I'm planning on sticking it out for a year and then might move back to band 5.

I know a band 6 sister who has just moved back to a band 5 working permanent nights because she needs to extra money.

I was coming on to say similar about the pension (I'm not a nurse but am an AfC B5). Be careful what you wish for.... If there's an increase in pay we need to call for an increase in the pension band amounts otherwise you could end up paying all your payrise into the pension scheme!

*forgot to say, because the difference of basic pay is £33.78, I've taken a sort of pay cut, because I don't work weekends now.

Based on the junior doctors, you’ll get 2% imposed in stages over 5 years.

I hope your leaders are less spineless than ours were! But the government will not want to be seen to concede at all, and will try to punish you for striking. You can also expect a lot of Daily Mail articles about holidays nursing leaders have been on, and pictures of their houses to show how rich and greedy nurses are, for wanting a pay rise.

Jeremy Hunt was the health minister when we went on strike, and he was an absolute dick about it, so wouldn’t hold your breath for major concessions.

They can take nurses off AFC (my preference)
or make a targeted payment to nursing staff.

My preference would be an upgrade for all nursing staff

So all band 2s up to a band 3 etc

I don’t think it’s just nurses struggling with under staffing and stress in the nhs. My team of 4 is now 2 and I’ve taken lots more responsibility with no additional pay. That’s what I see all around me. I also worked through the pandemic, long hours, weekends with no extra pay because I’m a band 7 it seems to be expected.