The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will have to wait nervously this week to see if it can continue its biggest strike streak.
Health Minister Steve Barclay is trying to block a strike next weekend in England at the request of hospital leaders. The RCN says the 48-hour non-urgent strike, which begins at 8:00 pm on April 30, falls within the required six-month period from voting for union action.
But the NHS employers said they had legal advice and the actions were illegal. As the RCN strike vote ended at 12:00 pm on November 2, 2022, officials claim the strike began on May 2 — the last day of the planned strike, when ER, ICU and oncology nurses left for the first time. — it does not fall under the mandate to strike.
Mr Barclay said: “At the request of the NHS employers, I regret to announce my intention to take legal action to ask the courts to consider the upcoming Royal College of Nursing strike scheduled for 30 April-2 May. scheduled to be cancelled. declare illegal. The government is a firm believer in the right to strike, but it is vital that any strike be legal and I have no choice but to act.”
RCN boss Pat Cullen said the health secretary’s legal attempt to block the strike was “terrible for democracy and very scary for unions.” She said it was “shameful” that Steve Barclay tried to thwart the strike through the courts, saying the nurses “won’t be silenced.”
“We have hired our legal adviser and will be ready to help. It’s not just about protecting nursing, it’s about protecting unions and democracy,” said Ms Cullen. observer.
The RCN is building on the 1995 mining dispute to argue that the strike can legally be extended until midnight May 2. A union spokesman said on Sunday evening: “The situation is developing.”
On April 14, 54 percent of RCN members rejected the government’s wage offer, which included a 5 percent pay rise and last year’s cash payments. The union also said it plans to hold a new strike vote to clear the way for strikes by Christmas.
Harry Eccles, a clinical nurse specializing in addictions, said: “RCN is the largest nursing union. We stand for change for everyone at AfC [Agenda for Change contracts]. People went to a bad deal out of desperation. The strike mandate is legal. [Steve Barclay’s] The statement is clear that he wants to ban the full 48 hours, citing “patient safety”. It’s destroying the NHS.”
On Sunday, RCN renewed its call for donations to the strike fund, saying the donations “help nurses fight for their patients” and ensure fair pay for care. “As we move closer to our biggest strike ever, your support will keep us going,” the union said.
This is what RCN said last week I that “only a portion” of the fund has been spent so far after a senior health official said the union would “run out of money by Christmas” if it continued to strike until the end of the year.
Members who took part in strikes before February may claim £50 on the day of strike at the discretion of the union. Members who strike in March can claim £80 for each day, and after four days of strike, members can claim £120 for each additional day of strike.
Roy Lilly, a former leader of the NHS, said that if even a third of the RCN’s 300,000 members went on a second round of strikes, the union would have to pay at least £5m a day. RCN stated that this is “a grossly inaccurate understanding of our finances”.
Bulletins from the Royal College of Midwives and Society of Radiologists on the government’s new NHS salary proposal end Tuesday, while those from Unite, GMB and the British Diabetes Association end Thursday.