Nurses’ strike could last for SIX MONTHS unless agreement is reached over pay, unions say
- The Royal College of Nursing said strikes could last up to six more months
- 16,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries were cancelled and needed to be rescheduled in England following the industrial action
- Nurses are calling for a 5 per cent above inflation pay rise
Nurses’ strikes could last for six months if the Government fails to cave in to demands for an inflation-busting pay rise, union bosses have warned.
The Royal College of Nursing said it wants industrial action ‘wrapped up by Christmas’ but threatened further walkouts if there is ‘no resolution’. The menacing remarks come as nurses strike today for the second time in a month.
Tens of thousands are expected to walk out of hospitals, including A&E and cancer wards, and on to picket lines at 44 NHS trusts in pursuit of a 19.2 per cent salary hike. Patricia Marquis, England director at the RCN, told Times Radio: ‘Sadly if there is no resolution, then our members have taken a vote to take strike action and the mandate that lasts for six months.
‘I really hope and I pray that is not what happens. We do not want to see protracted strikes, nor do we want to see further disruption to the NHS and to the services that patients need.’
Bosses from the Royal College of Nurses have warned strikes could last for six months if the Government fails to cave in to demands for an inflation-busting pay rise
Asked to confirm if that meant strikes could last six months, she added: ‘That’s how long our mandate lasts. We do not want it to last that long. Not at all. What we want is a really swift resolution as quickly as possible.’
The RCN has highlighted the 47,000 nursing vacancies in the NHS. Ms Marquis said staff were leaving the health service ‘in droves’. She added operations were being cancelled and people are waiting in ambulances ‘every single day’, with the service already in ‘complete crisis’.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said a 19 per cent pay rise for nurses was ‘unaffordable during these challenging times’
Data collected by the NHS after last week’s strike showed 16,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries were cancelled and needed to be rescheduled in England – 54,000 less than the Government suggested. Across England, 9,999 staff were absent from work due to the strike. Health service sources believe the number could be higher today as more nurses feel compelled to take action to put pressure on ministers and force through a rise. The figures were published after health minister Maria Caulfield said around 70,000 appointments in England would be lost.
The RCN, which is calling for a 5 per cent above inflation pay rise, has vowed to stage a fresh wave of more severe strikes in January if ministers do not open talks. But Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said the union should respect the independence of the NHS pay review body, which has set pay for nurses at about £1,400 more a year – at least a 4 per cent rise.
Yesterday during a visit to King’s College Hospital in London, he said a 19 per cent pay rise for nurses was ‘unaffordable during these challenging times’.
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