Nurses' strike ballot ends with result due in coming days: Northern Ireland health workers still without pay offer due to absence of Stormont Executive

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have been casting their votes in the biggest strike ballot in the union’s 106-year history in a dispute on NHS pay.In Northern Ireland, nurses are without any pay offer due to the absence of a functioning government at Stormont.In other parts of the UK, however, members of the RCN have been voting on an offer worth around 4-5% for most nurses.

Pat Cullen, who was RCN director in Northern Ireland when nurses here went on strike in the winter of 2019/20 in a dispute over pay and staffing levels, now leads the trade union on a UK wide level as its general secretary.

The Co Tyrone woman said: “I want to thank members for taking the time to vote in this historic ballot.

“There has never been a more crucial time to fight for safe staffing and fair pay.

“Our NHS is on the precipice due to chronic staff shortages.”

She continued: “Our profession is being pushed to the edge, with patient safety paying the price.

“None of us wants to take industrial action but we’ve been forced into this position after a decade of real-terms pay cuts.

“We can’t stand by and watch our colleagues and patients suffer anymore. Enough is enough.”Civica Election Services undertook the ballot on behalf of the RCN, with papers needing to be returned by 12pm on Wednesday.

The ballot was carried out at an employer rather than a national level, meaning the thresholds required for strike action to be lawful in each country will be used to determine at which workplaces strike action could be held.

Several other trade unions representing workers in Northern Ireland’s health service are also balloting members on possible strike action.A ballot of Unison members that opened on October 27 is due to close on November 18, while Nipsa members are also taking part in a strike ballot that covers the same time period.

The RCN say recent analysis shows that an experienced nurse’s salary has fallen by 20% in real terms since 2010, and is campaigning for a pay rise of 5% above inflation.