NEARLY two-thirds of nurses say they'll take industrial action if they don't get a big enough wage rise this year.

Nearly a third would consider quitting the NHS, 16% leaving for the independent sector and 13% leaving altogether.

Out of 1000 nurses in a Royal College of Nursing survey, half said their morale was poor or quite poor.

Of those three quarters blamed their workload or NHS financial problems while six out of 10 mentioned job cuts.

The independent review body is deciding how big a pay rise should be given this year - and a Government suggestion of 1.5% has caused fury.

Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the RCN, said: "With the real rate of inflation running at 4.2%, such an award amounts to a real-terms pay cut of 2.7% for nurses."