The Royal College of Nursing “may run out of money by Christmas” to support its members if they vote to strike, a former NHS Trust chief said.
The nurses vowed to strike until the end of the year after RCN members rejected the government’s offer of a pay rise. Resuscitation and oncology departments are affected for the first time.
The union’s 300,000 members will be re-elected “immediately” when the planned strike ends on May 2 as the union seeks a new six-month mandate to act.
RCN chief executive and general secretary Pat Cullen said: “If this vote is successful, it will mean a further strike before Christmas.”
In 2021, the union announced it had a £35m ‘war chest’ to support striking members, adding another £15m ahead of last year’s vote.
Members who went on strike in December 2022, January 2023 and/or February 2023 may claim £50 per strike day at union discretion. Members who strike in March can claim £80 for each day, and after four days of strike, members can claim £120 for each additional day of strike.
Nurses can apply for a strike payment after they have gone on strike, and once their wages are deducted, they will appear on the payroll.
Roy Lilly, health policy analyst and former chairman of the Homewood NHS Trust in Chertsey, Surrey, said: “RCN, unlike other unions, pays the strike to everyone. This is a sliding scale. If we take the lowest number, £50 a day, and assume that 100,000 nurses are on strike on the same day, that comes to £5 million a day. RCN could run out of money by Christmas.”
Mr Lilly said I he thought he might even be conservative in his calculations.
“If the RPC votes for another round of strikes, then so be it. [300,000] Members may have the right to strike. Thus, even if only a third took part in these strikes, the union would earn at least £5 million a day on strike. I think you could argue that it will be more, anyway, this is a conservative estimate,” he said.
“RCN is the only union that has strike pay – others have hardship pay and there is a reason for that when you have such longstanding action. If you look at RCN’s balance sheet, he has £38m in cash reserves. He has other responsibilities: staff, overtime, consultants, votes to count in a vote that costs a fortune, all branded caps and t-shirts.
“It only takes a few days to go on strike to create a huge hole in your finances. The RCN headquarters is located in the heart of one of the most expensive cities in the world. [Cavendish Square, London]. They make less than £1 million a year from subscriptions. They’re trying to get the RCN training institute [but] They won’t be able to finance much of what they want, even if they don’t go on strike for long. I just can’t imagine that they have enough money to keep everything running.”
RCN hit back when it shared the claim I “Only a portion” of the £50m that covers the profits from the strike and the personnel and material costs of the ongoing strikes has so far been spent on RCN tactics during the current round of strikes. The union decided to consult with the trusts individually, and only half of them supported the union action, which began in December involving 44 NHS trusts across England. That number rose to 55 in January and 73 in February.
An RCN spokesperson said: “This is a completely inaccurate understanding of our finances. The strike is expensive, but due in part to our record size, we have the money to spend on this action and our members’ other priorities. So far we have only spent a fraction of our £50m strike fund.
Members in Wales went on strike in December and January before halting action to consider the Welsh government’s offer of pay increases.
Ms Cullen thwarted further union action in England when she opened talks with the UK government over a wage hike proposal that was rejected by 54 per cent of RCN members last week. Some 46 percent supported the deal, with a 61 percent turnout, highlighting how divided the union is now.
The RCN will now hold a new vote in the English legislature to expand the scope and duration of the current strike mandate, which expires in May. If members vote to strike, the new mandate will last for six months and could affect up to 300,000 nurses in all trusts across England.
A successful vote on a second strike could also see the RCN join forces with the British Medical Association (BMA) and face hospitals with doctors and nurses leaving at the same time, though Downing Street downplayed the nightmarish scenario on Monday.
Asked about the possibility of joint strikes, a spokesman for the prime minister said: “I think Pat Cullen said they have no plans for that at the moment. The public will understandably be concerned about this kind of speculation and its impact on patient safety, so of course we call on all unions, whether BMA or RCN, to stop strike.
Last week, Unison members voted in favor of the government’s proposal to raise wages. The offer includes two pay years: a one-time additional amount in 2022-2023 and a 5 percent pay increase (10.4 percent for workers with the lowest income) in 2023-2024. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) voted to accept the proposal and 26 percent to reject it, with a 52 percent turnout.
The Unison boss said the government should secure the pay rise that union members are on strike for.
Speaking at Unison’s annual health conference in Bournemouth on Monday, Christina Makani said: “RCN rejected the proposal, but we won’t know how all the other health unions voted until May. Unison will hold the government accountable for the wage increases that its members are on strike for.”
The results of five other health unions will be announced by the end of the month. An NHS Works Council meeting on May 2 will then decide if the salary offer has been approved by the medical professionals and if so, the money will be paid out.
On Monday evening, Unite announced another health workers’ strike amid a longstanding wage dispute, although union members are still voting on the government’s improved proposal. Voting closes April 28, but the union said the results show members in a large number of NHS trusts are voting to reject the proposal and warned against calling a wave of new strikes in early May.
Unite members from South London’s Guys and St Thomas’ Trust and Yorkshire Ambulance Trust will set off on May 1, with more expected to follow on May 2, Unite announced.
The union put the government’s proposal to the vote of its members, not recommending its adoption, saying the 5% increase for 2023-2024 is nowhere close to inflation.
Nearly 200,000 hospital visits and procedures in England had to be postponed due to a trainee strike on April 11-15, according to preliminary figures from NHS England. About 20,470 inpatient procedures and 175,755 outpatient appointments were postponed, for a total of 196,225.
As a result of union action, an average of 26,145 workers were absent from work each day.
NHS National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powys said dealing with the aftermath of the NHS strikes is “increasingly difficult”.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.