The elections have been done by the nurses to determine whether the government should impose a freeze on pay increments or not. After the elections, the RCN said that the proposal is nothing more than the attack on the hard-working nurses.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and many other health unions have rejected the proposals to freeze the incremental pay for NHS staff in England. The proposal was in the exchange of no compulsory redundancies guarantee for some staff.

Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary, said: “Nurses are not going to do anything that damages patient care. This is a symptom of nurses feeling that the government may be listening but they are not hearing”. He said that the Department of Health will have to rethink about this.

Meanwhile, Tracey Budding, Chair of RCN Council’s Membership Representation Committee, said that the industrial action can be taken by the RCN members. But, the College rules said that members should not do anything that is harmful for the wellbeing and security of their patients, and the members have never taken industrial action so far.