A THREE per cent pay award for health service nurses is "not good enough", the Royal College of Nursing has said.
The union balloted its members last week on whether the proposed pay increase was appropriate.
More than 90 per cent of those who voted said the award was unacceptable.
Health Minister Robin Swann announced in November that all health and social care staff would receive a three per cent pay award, backdated to April 1 2021, as recommended by the NHS Pay Review Body.
The RCN has written to the health minister about the results of the ballot. Its board will now decide what members will do next.
Chair Fiona Devlin said the ballot's result "reflects the strength of feeling in Northern Ireland about pay".
"Nursing staff deserve to be paid fairly and equitably for the safety-critical work that they do – and our members have made it clear that a three per cent pay award is simply not good enough," she said.
Director of the RCN in Northern Ireland, Rita Devlin, said staff deserve to be paid fairly for their important work.
"We have written to the health minister, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Health and the leaders of all of the main political parties in Northern Ireland to share these important ballot results," she said.
"We cannot afford to take our eyes off the need to transform and develop a health service that is fit to serve the people of Northern Ireland.
"A fairly paid workforce is crucial to ensuring this happens."
