NURSES’ NO TO PAY DEAL
Strikes could go on til Xmas
NURSES are preparing for a new wave of strikes that could last until Christmas after rejecting the Government’s pay offer.
The Royal College of Nursing will stage a 48-hour walkout in a fortnight that will include staff in A&E departments and cancer units for the first time.
The strike action will take place from 8pm on Sunday, April 30 to 8pm on Tuesday, May 2 – so includes the Bank Holiday Monday.
The country’s largest nursing union will then hold a vote of members on a further six months of possible strikes across England.
These may be timed to coincide with industrial action by junior doctors, maximising disruption.
The RCN last night announced its members had rejected the proposed pay deal, with 54% opposed and 46% in support. Turnout was 61%.
The wage deal included a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last
TALKS RCN’s Pat Cullen year. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had boasted he would bring an end to this winter’s wave of industrial action, now faces a summer of discontent.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, who had recommended the deal to members, last night wrote to Health Secretary Steve Barclay to seek an urgent re-opening of talks.
She wrote: “What has been offered to date is simply not enough. The Government needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it. “After a historic vote to strike, our members expect a historic pay award.” Hospital trusts last night urged ministers to negotiate in order to avoid fresh strikes. Adam Brimelow, of NHS Providers, said: “It’s important the unions and Government find a way through this to prevent more strikes and let the NHS focus on its challenges, instead of having to resort to ‘all hands on deck’ just to get through the day.”
Members of Unison, which represents health workers including ambulance staff, voted to accept the pay offer. Of those who voted, 74% backed the deal, with a turnout of 52%.
Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said: “Clearly, health workers would have wanted more but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation.”
The Government said the RCNº result was “hugely disappointing”.