NNA - More than 300,000 members of Britain's largest nursing union will begin voting on Thursday over a strike to demand a pay rise that keeps up with soaring inflation, the biggest ballot in its 106-year history.

The Royal College of Nursing said it had been forced into the move after years of real-terms wage cuts deterred people from joining the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), leaving huge staffing gaps across the service.

"We are understaffed, undervalued and underpaid," RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen said. "For years our profession has been pushed to the edge, and now patient safety is paying the price."

The union said it wanted a pay rise of 5% above inflation to overcome real-term pay cuts as its members struggle to cope with the soaring cost of living. -- Reuters

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