Tens of thousands of nurses will go on strike Tuesday as a bitter dispute between NHS workers and the government over wages appears to be far from over.
Rishi Sunak asked the unions to cancel the NHS strike and warned of the impact of the strikes on people’s health. Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take to the streets for the second time on Tuesday, while paramedics in England and Wales strike on Wednesday.
Some 44 NHS trusts in England, six of the seven institutions in Wales and all health authorities in Northern Ireland are participating in the latest strike that has caused tens of thousands of appointments and surgeries to be cancelled.
The prime minister stressed that the government is “happy to sit down and talk to unions” but ministers have so far refused to discuss wages, which is a key reason for the dispute. RCN asked Mr. Sunak to intervene in the dispute, but the prime minister insisted on the salary issue, insisting that his focus was on fighting inflation.
He said: “I am very disappointed to see the unions calling for these strikes, especially at Christmas, especially when they have such an impact on people’s daily lives, with the disruption they cause and the impact on their health.
“I urge them to continue to assess whether these strikes are really necessary and to do everything possible to mitigate their impact on people. For its part, the government has an obligation to take contingency measures to make sure we are well prepared for the disruptions to come. “Part of what we do is handling payments responsibly and fairly.”
Downing Street has denied reports that Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been banned from offering nurses a lump sum. NHS staff have been offered a pay of £1,400, an average of 4.5% higher for caregivers and higher for those on lower wages.
Saffron Corderi, acting director of NHS Providers, which represents the trusts, urged the government and unions to negotiate pay while warning of the impact on patients.
She said trust leaders “really understand why employees are on strike, so I think they would urge the government and unions to sit down and talk about wages.” The RCN has warned that the union does not want long strikes, but its mandate is for the next six months.
The RCN has made 47,000 nursing positions available in the NHS and the director of RCN England said surgeries are being canceled and people are waiting in ambulances “every day” in the NHS.
Patricia Marquis said: “All of our members and all of us want to find a solution. If we can also avoid strikes tomorrow, we will. But the only way to do that is to talk about what’s at stake, which is pay and safe staff.”
Data compiled by the NHS since last week’s strike showed that 16,000 appointments, procedures and operations in England have been canceled and are due to be delayed – 54,000 fewer than the government had proposed. Across England, 9,999 employees were absent from the Labor Party as a result of the strike.
The figures were made public after Health Minister Maria Caulfield said that around 70,000 appointments had been lost in England. The RCN, which is demanding wage increases 5% above inflation, has promised another wave of tougher strikes in January if ministers don’t start talking.
But Mr Barclay said the union must respect the independence of the NHS Pay Authority, which has set nurses’ wages at around £1,400 a year, an increase of at least 4 per cent.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.