At 8 p.m. Sunday, tens of thousands of nurses returned to the picket lines that ministers, NHS workers and patients had hoped would be abandoned for good weeks after a wage deal was struck.
In the weeks that followed, members of the Royal College of Nursing, as well as their Unite counterparts, voted to reject the government’s salary proposal, despite two of the largest unions in the NHS, Unison and GMB, voting in favor of action. .
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen acknowledged on Sunday that her ongoing dispute with ministers did not benefit their members, patients or the government.
However, her union is determined to step up pressure on ministers to increase nurses’ salaries, and a new vote is being prepared this month on another six-month strike.
When the first Nursing Leaders deal was struck in March, it was only after the RCN stepped up its strike, prompting the ghosts of Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to offer higher pay for last year and this year.
Hoping to get more cash on top of this offer of a 6 percent lump sum and a 5 percent pay raise, RCN is repeating the tactic—not only is it launching the toughest action of the current 24-hour strike, but preparing an all-or-nothing move. strike nothing.
This is a risky strategy that can backfire. RCN insiders are hopeful that the public will continue to support the striking nurses who have done so much during the Covid pandemic and remain in a severely understaffed NHS.
There are no signs that public opinion about the strike will suddenly change in favor of the ministers.
But with the NHS payment deal set to close next Tuesday and ministers insisting there is no more room for negotiations, Ms Cullen’s assertion that she is in a “no-win” situation is correct.
Source: I News
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.