- Marie-Louise Connolly
- BBC News NI Health Correspondent
image source, Getty Images
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Northern Ireland has announced that its members will go on strike on January 18th.
The RCN said the move was in response to its failure to deliver pay for 2023/24 in line with colleagues across the UK.
The head of NI said it was a “difficult decision” but low salaries made it difficult to keep nurses employed.
The Department of Health said there was no funding for the increase in its submission to the independent pay review body, highlighting that wages in Northern Ireland may lag behind the rest of the UK.
Earlier this week, unions wrote to the Secretary of State and NI’s political parties about pay, conditions and the ongoing political impasse.
However, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said “a package is under consideration” to address public sector pay and “will be available to the next Northern Ireland Executive from day one”. .
In an unprecedented move in December 2019, around 9,000 RCN nurses took part in strike action for the first time in its 103-year history.
Rita Devlin says it’s ‘nothing short of immoral’ that nurses felt they had to take action again
Rita Devlin, director of the RCN Northern Ireland, said this was a “very difficult decision for nurses”.
Ms Devlin said low wages were making it difficult to employ staff and could no longer be tolerated.
He said that despite not receiving a pay rise, nurses had refrained from any strike action in 2023 “to give politicians time and space to resolve issues to take back parliament”. added.
Ms Devlin said nurses were being asked to “do more and more” and “morale is low, dissatisfaction is very high and anger is very high”.
She warned that nurses “will go elsewhere where they get paid more.”
She said: “The lack of political campaigning is not only causing patients and staff to suffer every day, impacting paychecks, but also preventing long-needed service change. We need more action. I have no choice but to take it.”
“We are not second-class citizens.”
Breege Quinn, chair of the RCN Northern Ireland board, said she had been a nurse for more than 40 years and had “never seen anything as dire as this”.
“As nurses, we have to stand up and advocate for our patients.Nursing staff are under unimaginable pressure, which can lead to poor health and mental distress for themselves. ” she said.
“While no nurse wants to go on strike, we cannot stand back any longer and need meaningful support and action to improve pay and improve the crisis facing health and social care in Northern Ireland. We cannot accept lack. We are not second-class citizens, so we reject it.” We will no longer be treated as such. ”
The RCN strike coincides with industrial action involving a growing number of public sector workers in Northern Ireland.
Trade union Nipsa described it as “the biggest in history”.
Other unions participating include the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Royal College of Midwives and all five of the major teaching unions, including head teachers.
Heaton-Harris is under pressure to tackle the dispute in the absence of Stormont bosses
Heaton-Harris is under pressure to tackle the dispute in the absence of Stormont executives.
But after political negotiations at Hillsborough Castle broke down before Christmas, he insisted it was a matter for local ministers to resolve the ongoing crisis, including a public sector pay dispute.
An NIO spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State expressed disappointment that a new executive had not stepped up to take this offer and deliver it to the people of NI by Christmas.”
“Now is the time for all political parties to come together, restore government and start tackling the challenges facing the people of Northern Ireland, including public sector pay.”