[user104658]

A big part of the issue with this is because 17% looks so big, but it's being taken in the context of it being a year-on-year sudden request for a large pay rise. Nurses have had a real-terms 20% loss of pay over the last decade due to various pay freezes and insufficient raises in previous years... leading to a sad situation where even with a 17% increase a nurse in 2023 will be significantly worse off than a nurse in 2012.

Another large part of the issue is that with there being large (and ongoing) minimum wage rises - obviously a good thing - the lack of raises for skilled staff becomes a major issue. Starting hourly rate for a nurse who has undergone years of training and taken on tens of thousands in student debt is now barely more than they'd make at Tesco or McDonalds... where all they have to worry about at the end of the day is keeping shelves stocked and putting ketchup on burgers. Having people doing a job where people's physical and mental wellbeing and ultimately their lives are in their hands, for a few £ more a month than they'd make in any minimum wage job, is madness.

It's not just about people being "literally on the breadline" - it's about accepting that trained and experienced medical staff should be paid accordingly, and not be expected to be happy that they get a couple of quid an hour more than Billy at B&M bargains. And less than Billy's manager.