After weeks of tepid relations and harsh rhetoric between the government and nurses over better NHS pay, a thaw of sorts appears to be beginning.
Pat Cullen, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said she was ready to meet ministers halfway through meeting her union’s 19 percent demand.
Despite Rishi Sunak’s opposition, the prime minister held emergency talks with health leaders to ease the crisis and invited all health unions to hold “constructive” talks with him in Downing Street on Monday.
Nurses are earning an average of 4.75% this year, in line with a July recommendation from the independent NHS pay review body, but the RCN says the figure is not enough.
Mr Sunak has made reducing NHS waiting lists one of his top priorities for the next two years. However, he remains adamant that no new deals are planned for this year.
Instead, the government appears to be hoping that April’s proposal to raise the pay of NHS workers will be enough to reverse further union action. Mr Sunak is banking on his reputation for a breakthrough, but whether nurses and other NHS workers will accept the promise of jam tomorrow when they face a livelihood crisis today is another matter.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay wrote over the weekend that he would take a “constructive approach” to negotiations over next year’s wage review and offered a raise if unions agreed to cut efficiency to make higher wages “more affordable.”
It is enough for RCN boss Pat Cullen to admit that she felt “a glimmer of optimism” and that there has been “a slight shift” in what Mr. Sunak and his government are now saying. But even if both parties agree to a deal, the next NHS crisis will soon break out.
Some 45,000 young doctors in England will receive ballots from Monday, and the British Medical Association is calling on its members to vote in favor of the strike. If, as expected, the crowd has already said yes to the BMA, young doctors will stage a 72-hour strike without emergency care in March.
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.