U.K. Nurses To Strike Twice In January

England’s hospital woes look set to continue with nurses announcing a second set of strikes after an earlier walk-out failed to produce a new pay deal.

Nurses at roughly a quarter of England’s public hospital trusts say they will strike for 12 hours on January 18th and 19th if the government does not offer higher pay.

Nurses across the country restricted their activity over two days of strikes in December, resulting in tens of thousands of cancelled appointments.

The Royal College of Nurses previously warned further industrial action may be more severe, resulting in greater disruption as staff perform fewer duties.

The announcement will put pressure on government ministers who have so far refused to offer increased pay to nurses and other healthcare workers who’ve striked in recent days.

Ambulance workers also engaged in industrial action last week — and some are due to strike again on January 11 and 23.

Many National Health Service workers are unhappy with a pay deal that saw average salaries rise by around 4% this year. With inflation hitting 10.7% in November, many unions consider this a real-terms pay cut, and have asked for a much higher increase.

The government has so far refused to move on its pay offer, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arguing an increase would increase inflation.

Health secretary Steve Barclay tweeted earlier this week that his “door was always open” to discussions with unions about “working conditions.”

But he added the government would continue to “defer” to the independent NHS Review Body, which previously recommended this year’s salary increase. At the time, inflation was at a lower rate.

He wrote: “We have an independent pay review body — which the unions campaigned to set up — and we will continue to defer to that process to ensure decisions balance the needs of staff and the wider economy.”

Annoucing the new strike dates, RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: “The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.

“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”

Union leaders including Cullen have also argued the workforce needs better pay to attract more staff into the industry.

She added: “The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS.

“The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe — the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in.”

Meanwhile, ambulance workers have called off a strike planned for Wednesday, with union leaders stating public support for the cause was at an “amazing” level.

Rachel Harrison, national secretary for the GMB union, said: “The government can now do what ambulance workers and the public want — get round the table and talk pay now. We are here 24/7. Any time, any place.”