Nursing strikes: read between the picket lines

December 2022 saw the start of the first ever strikes by Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members, simultaneously presenting a mixture of feelings, including sadness, pride, and solidarity. Sadness that the nursing workforce has been compelled to take this action through decades of government shortfalls, but pride in the solidarity of nurses seeking to safely staff our profession in the long term, ultimately protecting our patients.

However, the Health Secretary and mainstream media seem intent on focusing on ‘unreasonable pay demands’ and ‘maintaining safety’ during any disruptions. The picket lines tell a different story. This isn't just about nursing salaries, this is about safe staffing and a sustainable professional workforce in the NHS, both now and in the future. We know wages have remained stagnant in relation to inflation, presenting nurses with real terms pay cuts as living costs are rising faster than salaries, but this is only one contributing factor to the workforce issues we are facing.