Nurses in Wales and England to hold silent protests over pay deal

Nursing staff are to stage silent protests across England and Wales to demonstrate their opposition to their pay rise.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said there is growing anger over the “failure“ of ministers to listen to calls for a bigger increase than the 3% controversially awarded for NHS staff earlier this year.

Unions representing health workers have been campaigning for a much larger rise, especially after the way staff have responded to the pandemic.

The RCN said that, from the Angel of the North to the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Fistral beach in Cornwall, nurses will bow their heads and stand in silence in response to the pay deal imposed on them by the Government.

Its members working in the NHS in England and Wales are voting on whether they find the 3% pay award acceptable, with the result due later this month.

The RCN said the latest figures from NHS England show the number of nursing vacancies has risen to nearly 40,000, an increase of more than 4,000 in just one month.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “The voice of nursing has been ignored for such a long time and many in the profession are now lost for words at how ministers are treating them."

“They were sent to fight the pandemic without adequate protection and now they have a pay deal that even the Government admits leaves them worse off."

“Politicians who see our members standing vigil today should realise it’s not too late to change their minds – but they have to be willing to start the conversation."