NURSES in Dorset are voting on whether to take industrial action in protest at a continuing cap on their pay.

Around 270,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will be balloted on whether they want to strike or take other forms of industrial action as pressure on services ‘has reached unprecedented levels.’

The union, which has never called a strike before, will decide whether to issue a formal ballot after the poll closes on May 7.

The RCN says low levels of pay are responsible in part for tens of thousands of unfilled nursing posts.

The RCN said that, since 2010, the Government has inflicted a 14 per cent real-terms cut on nursing pay. A formal pay cap of 1 per cent was introduced in 2015 after year-on-year pay freezes in the previous parliament.

South West RCN council members Lors Allford and Vicky Brotherton said: “As the South West elected members of the RCN Council, we voted to launch a poll of members to give nursing staff a voice and decide what action to take. In the online poll, RCN members have a chance to vote for action short of a strike – such as not working unpaid overtime – or taking an historical decision for strike action.

“Nursing staff are beyond disappointed by years of pay restraint when the pressure on our services has reached unprecedented levels. With the announcement of a general election there is no better time to hold politicians to account for the impact of their policies on NHS staff and on patient care.

“Nurses are not taking this step lightly - the wellbeing of our patients is the priority of every member of the nursing team, but too many of us are struggling to make ends meet and we should not have to cover the NHS deficit from our own pay packet. We ask for readers support and understanding.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: "The dedication and sheer hard work of our nurses is crucial to delivering world-class patient care; that's why the NHS offers flexible working, training and development opportunities, competitive pay, and an excellent pension scheme.

"As is usual practice, the Government accepted independent recommendations about this year's pay uplift. Ensuring pay is affordable helps protect jobs - there are an extra 12,100 nurses on our wards since 2010 - which means frontline NHS services are protected at a time of rising demand."