The RCN has created the UK’s largest union strike fund overnight.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced a £35 million Industrial Action Fund as it prepares to fight the Government on pay.
Last night the union’s governing Council convened an emergency meeting, in which they voted unanimously to immediately set up a £35 million Industrial Action fund.
The news comes just hours after the Government asked the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) to recommend a rise of just 1% for all NHS workers.
This morning nurse turned Conservative MP Nadine Dorries explained that a “1% pay rise is all we can afford” as the Government needs to prioritise “saving jobs and livelihoods”.
The strike fund is an amount of money that can be used to support workers, who are members of a trade union, to provide some compensation for loss of earnings and campaigning during industrial action.
In setting up this fund, the RCN has created the UK’s largest union strike fund overnight.
The most experienced front-line nurses are £6144 per year worse off now than ten years ago due to wages failing to keep up with the rate of inflation (RPI).
Health unions have been calling upon the Government to give NHS workers an immediate restorative rise of between 12.5% and 15% after over a decade of real-terms pay cuts.
Dave Dawes, Chair of Council, told NursingNotes; “Our members and our elected officials are all rightfully angry that the government has ignored all our lobbying efforts and campaigning and is recommending a pathetic 1% pay rise.
“The government is sending us a clear message about their intentions on pay. The RCN is sending a clear message that we feel that industrial action is becoming much more likely.
“Last night the RCN created the biggest union industrial action fund the UK has ever seen and this is just the first step.”
This is a breaking story – this page will be updated as new information comes to light.