Overview

• The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is pressing the UK government to act on pay and structural reforms, rejecting the NHS Pay Review Body's 3% pay rise recommendation for 2025-26 as insufficient.
• RCN General Secretary Professor Nicola Ranger argues that nursing's 90% female workforce contributes to its chronic undervaluation and lack of serious investment.
• The union is demanding automatic career progression for junior nurses and broader reforms beyond annual pay increases to address systemic issues in the profession.
• Professor Ranger has hinted at potential summer strike ballots if the government fails to demonstrate commitment to addressing nurses' pay and working conditions.
• With over 34,000 NHS nursing vacancies and projected retirements worsening staffing shortages, the RCN warns that government health service reforms will fail without urgent investment in nursing.