Crippling nurses strikes appear to be at an end, at least for now, with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) failing its latest industrial action ballot.
It comes after union organised disruption to NHS care over the last six months contributed to thousands of appointments and procedures being cancelled.
RCN bosses wanted a fresh strike mandate from its membership in order to carry on a series of devastating walkouts after their previous six-month period expired.
They called on members to reject a settlement offer from ministers of 5 per cent rise for this year and one-off bonus of up to £3,789 for last year in pursuit of a better deal.
The RCN’s failure to achieve another strike comes despite union boss Pat Cullen promising Glastonbury attendees that nurses would strike again.
More than half a million NHS appointments in England have been cancelled due to health service strikes since December, official figures show
According to the Morning Star Ms Cullen told a left-leaning panel entitled Power in a Union: a Year of Strikes and Solidarity, that: ‘Taking strike action is the difference between paying your rent next month or standing up for yourself.
‘But the fight isn’t over. Nurses will strike again, but we strike for our patients.’
But today Ms Cullen admitted to members that the union’s latest ballot had failed.
In an email she wrote: ‘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.’
‘To every one of you who took part, whether by voting or encouraging others to, thank you. We have so much to be proud of.’
She added that while ‘disappointing’ she vowed to continue to fight for nurses to get a higher salary.
‘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,’ she said.
‘We have started something special – the voice of nursing has never been stronger and we’re going to keep using it.’
The 106-year-old RCN has 300,000 members and under trade union law needed needed to have convince 50 per cent of its NHS membership in England to vote in the ballot for it to be valid.
In addition, at least 40 per cent of the votes must have been in favour of the action for it to count.
The RCN said only 122,000 members voted in the latest ballot, about 43.5 per cent of the eligible membership, 6.5 per cent short of the legal threshold.
But they added among those who did vote around 84 per cent (some 100,000) were in favour of continuing the strike action.
NHS Confederation, a membership group for NHS services, welcomed the result.
The body’s chief executive Matthew Taylor said: ‘Leaders will be grateful for the certainty that the result of the RCN ballot brings and will be pleased to have a full cohort of nursing staff available as we head into winter.’
‘However, while the vote has resulted in no more strikes, we must not overlook the concerns and conditions nurses are working in.
‘With 112,000 vacancies in the NHS and large numbers of nurses continuing to leave the service, the government must do all it in can to address workforce shortages by implementing a fully funded and long overdue workforce plan, so nurses and other health staff can feel supported in delivering essential care to their patients.’
The failed vote brings to a close months of unprecedented strike action by the RCN.
Not only was it the first RCN strike in England but the bitter dispute also saw the union at one point threaten to withdraw so-called ‘life and limb’ exceptions to industrial action.
The union had argued for a pay rise of about 5 per cent above inflation, at one point demanding a 19 per cent pay hike.
