A country-wide mandate could see up to 300,000 nursing staff take strike action.
Nursing staff across England have started to vote on if to take strike action until Christmas.
The RCN will ask almost 300,000 nursing staff whether they are prepared to take further strike action over the next six months.
The ballot will ask RCN members working for the NHS in England whether they are prepared to take further strike action after they rejected a 5% pay rise earlier this year.
With ballots now falling through letterboxes, the union is urging its members to vote ‘yes’ in support of strike action.
Unlike the previous ballot votes will be aggregated, meaning the union is seeking a country-wide mandate. To achieve a country-wide mandate, 50% of all eligible members must vote, and the majority must say ‘yes’ to strike action.
A source inside the RCN told NursingNotes that any future strikes would be countrywide and without derogations.
Unfinished business.
Junior doctors in England also announced further strike action this week after rejecting a similar pay offer.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen explained, “Once again, we have been forced to ask our members if they want to take to the picket lines in their fight for fair pay. This is unfinished business and the government can get it resolved without the need for more strike action.
“Ministers have tried to silence them through the courts as well as in Parliament but we will continue to make sure their voice is heard through the corridors of power.
“The NHS is fraying at the edges. To improve care and address the shortage, government must bring more people into nursing and keep them there by paying staff fairly.”
The ballot will close on Friday 23 June with results expected to be announced the following week. The new strike would run until 22 December 2023.
The ballot opens as the government seeks to push the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill through Parliament which could prevent some nursing staff from taking part in lawful industrial action in the future.
