Nurses set to reject pay deal as new wave of NHS strikes looms

Britain’s health service faces the prospect of further disruption as nurses are expected to overwhelmingly reject a 36 per cent pay rise offered by ministers. With the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) preparing to announce the outcome of its members’ indicative vote, government officials have been urged to return to the negotiating table to avoid a formal strike ballot in the autumn.

The RCN’s indicative vote closed on Sunday and early indications suggest a decisive rejection of the government’s pay offer. Turnout is likely to exceed the 50 per cent threshold required for industrial action, positioning nurses to potentially join junior doctors—already staging a five day walkout—in a coordinated strike effort if talks do not progress over the summer months.

Discontent among nurses has grown as this year’s pay increase lags behind the settlement given to doctors for a second consecutive year. Nurses point out that many colleagues remain on the lowest steps of the NHS pay scale for extended periods despite accumulating experience—a key issue the RCN intends to address in negotiations. The union is pushing for fundamental reform to allow more opportunities for nurse progression within the pay structure.

Simultaneously, the British Medical Association (BMA) has doubled down on calls for pay restoration to 2008 levels, emphasising the need to recruit and retain highly skilled practitioners. Public support for doctor industrial action has waned, with recent polling showing 55 per cent of voters now opposing the strikes, up from 49 per cent earlier this month. Ministers have hardened their stance, refusing to reopen pay talks and characterising the BMA’s actions as holding the country hostage.

With tensions escalating, ambulance and hospital support staff represented by the GMB union have also voted to reject their pay offer and are weighing possible walkouts. Senior doctors remain locked in a separate dispute over a 4 per cent pay rise, which their union committee has described as inadequate given the erosion of earnings over recent years.

The coming months could be marked by wide-ranging industrial unrest across the NHS workforce, placing increased pressure on the government to find a resolution. Failure to reach agreement risks not only compounding existing backlogs and hampering post pandemic NHS recovery, but also damaging future recruitment and retention of vital clinical staff.