Ministers were told today that if they do not start “formal pay negotiations” with nurses in the next five days, devastating NHS strikes will begin this winter.
The Royal College of Nursing is calling for a rise in inflation for its 300,000 members.
She is demanding an increase of around 19.2 per cent, which is around £6,835 more for the average nurse on £35,600.
Steve Barclay has held crisis talks with the RCN twice since announcing he would launch a “historic” wave of strikes, which will start before Christmas and last until May. Other doctors’ unions plan to coordinate strikes to create as much chaos as possible.
However, the health secretary has yet to agree a deal to prevent further suffering for patients this winter. He said he would not give in to wage demands.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said: “I regret to write to you that we will be announcing the dates and locations of our strike action in December unless our next meeting is formal wage negotiations, which will be within the next 5 days start. Action.’
The Royal College of Nursing is demanding a 19 per cent pay rise for its members and says devastating NHS strikes will begin this winter if ministers do not start ‘formal pay negotiations’ within the next five days.
Steve Barclay has held crisis talks with the RCN twice since announcing he would launch a “historic” wave of strikes, which will start before Christmas and last until May.
This chart shows the Royal College of Nursing’s calls for a 5 per cent above-inflation pay rise for the groups covered by its membership, including nursing assistants and nurses. Estimates based on data from NHS employers
The RCN is only one NHS union whose members are repaid or entitled to vote
In her letter, Ms Cullen said her recent meetings with Mr Barclay were welcome, but added that “I must not allow my members or the public to confuse these meetings with serious discussions on the issues of NHS payment and patient safety”.
She said: “You asked again to meet in the next few days and on this third occasion I must make my expectation clearer.
“A meeting only makes sense if you want to discuss – in formal, detailed negotiations – the issues that made our members vote to strike.
“It is now more than a week since we announced our voting results and your department has spent more time publicly criticizing our members’ expectations than trying to reach agreement and a satisfactory conclusion.
“I also point out that this is in contrast to the approach taken by governments and leaders in other parts of the UK.”
Critics of the strike described the RCN as “militant”.
Earlier this month, the RCN announced the results of its UK election, the biggest in its history, after asking 300,000 members to pay.
Findings confirmed that around 100 hospitals in England will be affected by the outage, as well as all NHS organizations in Northern Ireland and Scotland and all but one in Wales.
Although the strikes are not expected to disrupt emergency services, other NHS services will be affected as special staffing rules are in place to keep patients safe.
Routine treatments such as hip and knee operations may be cancelled, while cancer treatment and dialysis may also be put on hold.
The RCN’s request comes after the doctors’ union announced that young doctors will be voted on union action in the new year.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced the move yesterday, insisting that “all options are on the table”, meaning there could be a potential for strikes.
Like the nurses’ union, the BMA is in urgent talks with Mr Barclay Barclay and says he still has a chance to avoid another NHS strike this winter.
The BMA wants ministers to commit to a 26 per cent pay rise for aspiring doctors who start on salaries of almost £30,000.
The chart shows the current average salary of public sector workers (blue bars) and how much more their unions are asking for a pay rise (yellow bars).
The British Medical Association is backing a 26 per cent pay rise for junior doctors to allegedly make up for 15 years of actual pay cuts. A doctor in his first year currently earns £29,384, so he will earn around £7,800 more if the union’s demands are met. The numbers for older doctors in training will vary
This would theoretically equate to around £7,800 extra for first year doctors.
However, salaries can go as high as £60,000.
No. 10 gave young doctors just a 2 percent increase in their final salary. This has undermined morale among medical professionals, the union claimed.
The BMA fears this will lead to a “vicious cycle of shrinking staff numbers and deteriorating patient care”.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
