NURSES’ strikes have come to an end after too few staff voted in a ballot for more walkouts.
NHS bosses have breathed a sigh of relief as crippling industrial action must be called off after six months.
AlamyNurses started their strikes in December in a row over pay and working conditions[/caption]
The row went out not with a bang but a whimper as fewer than half of the Royal College of Nursing’s members took part in the latest vote.
It needed a 50 per cent turnout for a legal mandate but only managed 43 per cent, with 122,000 members casting a vote.
NHS staff will still get a five per cent pay rise and bonus worth up to £1,600 each as part of a deal agreed by other unions.
The RCN had wanted to keep pushing for more cash but lost momentum with its members.
The union says it will “continue to put pressure on the government to deliver fair pay”.
General secretary Pat Cullen said: “While the vast majority of members who returned their ballot papers voted in favour of strike action, we did not meet the 50 per cent turnout threshold necessary for us to be able to take further strike action.
“While this will be disappointing for many of you, the fight for the fair pay and safe staffing that our profession, our patients, and our NHS deserves, is far from over.”
Ten thousand staff walked out in the first strike on December 15, which was the RCN’s first ever walkout in England and Wales.
But the number protesting fell to 5,000 per day in the latest round in spring.
Thousands of hospital appointments were cancelled.
Matthew Taylor, chief of the NHS Confederation, said: “Leaders will be grateful for the certainty that the result of the RCN ballot brings.
“They will be pleased to have a full cohort of nursing staff available as we head into winter.”
Sir Julian Hartley, of NHS Providers, added: “While the RCN didn’t get enough ‘yes’ votes, we must not ignore the strength of feeling within the profession and the factors that compelled them to walk out in the first place.
“Trust leaders will of course be hugely relieved there will be no more strikes by nurses for the foreseeable future, but it is vital the government and RCN now take this opportunity to ‘reset’ their relationship and to resolve wider, ongoing issues.”
“Anything less risks compounding the damaging legacy of increasingly long and drawn out industrial disputes between the government and different groups of healthcare staff.”
NHS woes are not over and tens of thousands of junior doctors will hold their longest ever strike from July 13 to 18.
The British Medical Association may also see senior consultants vote to strike, with their ballot closing this week.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I hugely value nurses’ work and welcome the end to disruptive strikes so staff can continue caring for patients and cut waiting lists.
“One million-plus eligible NHS staff are receiving their pay rise and one-off payments this month.
“I hope other unions recognise it’s time to end their strikes.”