Ministers hardened their stance ahead of strikes next month, saying there was no money left to improve the collective agreement.
Transport Minister Mark Harper raised the chances of a winter strike by saying on Sunday there was “simply no money” to meet the demands of workers preparing for union action, but hinted at progress in rail strike talks.
He said public sector wage increases in line with rising inflation were “unacceptable” so it was unlikely that the upcoming strikes would be canceled before Christmas.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are set to stage their first national strike next month, joining transport and postal workers on picket lines in a dispute over wages and working conditions. Unions representing midwives, paramedics and junior doctors may also vote to strike in the coming weeks.
Mr Harper said: “Inflation-adjusted or anti-inflation wage increases are prohibitively expensive. I think we want to try to give all civil servants who work really hard a decent bonus, but it shouldn’t be an inflationary boost.
“Given the context, there is simply no money to pay for them, and we haven’t seen private sector pay raises generally come below the rate of inflation, which I understand is difficult for people.”
The RCN is campaigning for a 5 percent wage increase over consumer price inflation (RPI), more than 19 percent over the government’s 4-5 percent offer for most nurses. The RPI was 7.5 percent when the college presented its claims to officials.
Responding to Mr Harper’s comments, RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said: “While billions of pounds are being spent on temporary measures such as hiring contract workers to tackle the NHS workforce crisis, we are being told that pay increases for caregivers is prohibitively expensive. .
“With 47,000 nursing vacancies in the UK NHS alone, the increase in nurses’ wages is not just about being paid fairly, but also about retaining and hiring enough nurses to care for patients safely. Strikes are always a last resort, but we have been ignored for too long. Nurses don’t stand by and watch their patients take risks – they do it for themselves and their patients.”
RCN members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will pull out on 15 and 20 December if the dispute is not resolved. Union action in Scotland has been put on hold following the resumption of NHS wage negotiations.
Last week, the Scottish government increased the wage offer for NHS workers, offering an average increase of 7.5% and a whopping 11.3% for the lowest paid employees. Unison said it was making an offer to its members in Scotland with a recommendation that it be accepted.
Union action ballots are valid for six months in England, Scotland and Wales, or nine months with the consent of the employer. Northern Ireland does not set a time limit for a union vote, provided the decision is made within eight weeks of receipt.
Health Minister Steve Barclay exchanged letters with Ms Cullen over the weekend urging the nurses’ union to “return to the negotiating table” for talks, but he refuses to talk about salary, instead wanting terms like pension plans, vacation and talk schedules and the availability of free coffee.
He said nurses would receive a fair pay raise of at least £1,400 this year, meaning a newly qualified nurse would “generally earn over £31,000 a year”, a figure disputed by NHS staff when older nurses earn much more. – upon receipt of a pension contribution in the amount of 20 percent of their salary.
Mr Barclay said: “This award should also be seen in light of the difficult economic conditions our country is facing and the broader package of benefits and annual leave.”
The health minister said these were “challenging times for everyone” and that economic conditions meant the RCN’s demands, which according to current figures amount to a 19.2% pay rise and cost £10bn a year, would not be met. .
Ms Cullen responded that she would not return to negotiations until union members vote en masse for the union’s actions. “I’m afraid that the position of my members is “negotiations or nothing,” she wrote. “You can’t close them and then repeat that your door is open. When the negotiating table is empty, we see that you do not take progress seriously.
“This dispute needs to be resolved and now the strikes will start in two weeks. Let’s negotiate on behalf of every nurse.”
Regarding strike prevention and patient safety, the RCN will hold a meeting with senior NHS officials in the coming days.
Source: I News
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