Nurse strike more likely as pay deal rejected

Monday 28 October 2019

Royal College of Nursing Members are looking to start the formal process of assessing a strike, after they rejected the latest "patronising" pay deal offered to them by the States.

The pay deal, which members described as trying to "buy them out" in the run-up to Christmas, was criticised from its announcement, but RCN members voted overwhelmingly in favour of rejecting it.

92% of the 59% of members that voted, chose to reject the deal. 90% of those voters also supported industrial action. 

Kenny Lloyd, an RCN Convenor in Guernsey, said the decision to reject the pay deal was not surprising.

"The actual offer that we had was highly patronising to our members. It was using the fact that we are in the run up to Christmas to try and buy us out," he said.

Mr Lloyd said the next steps would see RCN members meet on the 5 November to start the "complicated process" of seriously looking at industrial action. Mr Lloyd stressed this would be a long and protracted process, because of how serious taking action would be. 

Pictured: Hundreds of people recently marched to support nurses in trying to get better pay.

"We will vote at the meeting to see if members want to start the formal process of investigating industrial action. If that is something that is supported, then it will be passed to the South East Board, and they would have to review the set up in Guernsey and look at the history of the negotiations."

After that, Mr Lloyd said the decision would get passed to the UK RCN group, and then to the RCN Council. Only after those four votes would island members once again be able to decide if they want to go ahead with a strike.

"It is a protracted process, but it needs to be, because we take the idea of industrial action very seriously," Mr Lloyd said, "it seems we are back at the start again." 

To read more about what was included in the pay deal, click here.