RCN Wales seeking views from members on NHS pay award
Nurses in Wales are to be balloted on whether they think the 5.5% NHS pay deal that they received this year is good enough.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Wales has announced that it will be consulting its relevant members on whether they accept or reject the 2024-25 Agenda for Change pay award.
“Their salaries do not reflect their important role and will remain inadequate even after this award”
Nicky Hughes
The result will determine the college’s next steps in its campaign for fair pay for nursing staff in Wales.
It will not change the fact that the deal is being implemented by the Welsh Government.
The announcement by RCN Wales comes after a similar consultation was held by the branch of the college in England where the same 5.5% pay deal was received.
Revealing the results this week, the union confirmed that its NHS members in England had voted to reject the deal and that it would now seek talks with the government.
The result could pave the way for new strike action by nurses, although RCN chief executive and general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger has said that “we’re not strike hungry”.
The consultation in Wales will run from today until 25 October.
Nicky Hughes, associate director of RCN Wales, said its members would be asked to vote on whether they believe the award “is sufficient to begin the necessary steps to restore their pay”.
“Nursing staff are the constant, essential workforce throughout the entire health and care system,” she added.
“Their salaries do not reflect their important role and will remain inadequate even after this award.
“We urge the Welsh Government to present their strategies for enhancing NHS pay – it is crucial to attract and retain nursing staff, fill thousands of vacant nursing positions, and provide the care that people deserve.”
The launch of the ballot in Wales also comes in the same week that NHS nurses in Scotland have agreed to a 5.5% pay award for 2024-25.
Meanwhile, Health and Social Care nurses in Northern Ireland are still without a pay deal for this year.
