“When nurses use their voice, they are a powerful force for good, and now is the time to use it,” says UNISON head of nursing Gail Adams as the union’s health branches in England gear up for the next round of action on pay.
All members working in the NHS in England will stage a four-hour stoppage between 7am and 11am on Monday 24 November.
This will be followed by a week of action short of strike action between Tuesday 25 and Sunday 30 November, when members will work to rule and not do any unpaid overtime.
“Nurses rarely take action but, when they do, they win,” says Ms Adams, calling on them to join their colleages in striking against the government’s “unjust” decision not to implement the independent NHS pay review body’s recommendation in full.
Ms Adams recalls that “during my career, I’ve been on strike twice.
“The first was in 1988 over clinical grading, when employers changed clinical grading forms with the deliberate intention of down-banding staff. The second was again under the Conservatives, when they tried to introduce local pay in 1993.
“On each occasion, we won.
“It is also important to recognise that, by challenging unfair pay, we are fighting for better care for patients too. All research tells us that a happy and motivated workforce leads to better patient care outcomes.
“However, it’s becoming ever more difficult for people to balance their budgets at home and this will only add to the worry of hard-working nurses.
“Many nurses will not be able to afford the increase in registration fees. Pay in the NHS has not kept pace with inflation and staff have not received an above-inflation pay rise since 2009.
“I believe nurses should take industrial action over pay. I believe nurses – like other professionals – have the right to withdraw their labour and that doesn’t make them uncaring.”
The decision to strike is never easy – for nurses or other NHS workers – but UNISON emphasises that it can be done safely and nurses should not feel guilty about asking for fair pay.
There are a lot of myths flying around and I would like to address some of them,” says Ms Adams.
“Nurses cannot walk off the ward and abandon patients – they don’t, they never have and they never will.
“Our local branches spend hours with employers agreeing emergency cover arrangements before any industrial action – they always have and always will. This is to ensure they take action in a safe way.
“It’s ironic really that only when nurses take strike action do employers want to agree minimum staffing levels. Employers don’t believe in minimum staffing on any other day.”
NHS workers took strike action over pay for the first time in 32 years on Monday 13 October. This was followed by a week of action short of strike action when members took their meal and rest breaks.
