NI Health: Nurses to vote on strike action

Nurses in Northern Ireland are to be balloted on strike action.

It follows a similar move across the rest of the UK.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the "fight for fair pay continues", with the decision taken at an emergency council meeting on Wednesday night.

It means nurses in Northern Ireland will join a national ballot, which is asking members on Agenda for Change contracts if they want to take strike action.

The action would involve a complete withdrawal of labour.

Northern Ireland's nurses went on strike for the first time in its history in 2019.

But if RCN members support the move, it will be first time members of the union in England, Wales and Scotland have walked out.

Fiona Devlin, chairwoman of the RCN NI board, said "it was not an easy decision".

"After years of underpayment and staff shortages, the fight for fair pay continues," Ms Devlin said.

"Nursing staff in Northern Ireland do not even know if they will receive a pay award this year.

"However, we are acutely aware that the pay award for colleagues in England and Wales does nothing to help with the spiralling costs of living and will do nothing to recruit or retain more nursing staff."

Ms Devlin said a below inflation pay award "does not recognise the skills and responsibility of the job" or "improve patient safety".

Rising energy prices could push UK inflation as high as 18% in 2023, economic analysts have predicted.

RCN director in Northern Ireland, Rita Devlin, said: "It is quite unbelievable that three years after we took industrial action for the first time in the RCN's history, that we're asking members if they will take strike action again."

While nurses in Scotland have already rejected a pay offer - in England and Wales members have been offered a below inflation pay award.

In Northern Ireland, nurses have yet to receive a formal pay offer for 2022/23 due to the absence of a functioning executive.

The Democratic Unionist Party walked out of the first minster's role in February and has said it will not agree to a new executive being formed until its issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol are addressed.

Health Minister Robin Swann said there had to be a UK-wide approach to dealing with nurses' pay demands.

"I have mad it very clear that the current financial package that I have doesn't even meet the independent body's recommendations, never mind the additional asks that we are seeing from our health service.

"But I have always been very clear in my support for our health workers in regards to what I have been able to do within the budgetary availability that I have had."

The RCN ballot on industrial action and strike action will take place by post from 15 September until 13 October.

According to the college, serious shortages of nursing staff are putting patient safety at risk daily.

In a statement is said governments across the UK have failed to take action on the issue and that in Northern Ireland, with no functioning executive to appeal to nurses have yet to receive a pay offer.

"This situation has become intolerable," the statement said.

"We took strike action before primarily due to safe staffing and the impact of low pay on retention of nursing staff.

"We're now in a worse position than ever with unsafe staffing levels and a range of other issues including the high number of nursing staff who are leaving the profession.

"Unfortunately, we've been left with no other choice than to ask our members to vote on industrial action."