Nurses might strike AGAIN within the New Year to get bigger pay rises
- Pat Cullen accused politicians of solely doing sufficient to ‘save their very own skins’
Nurses might strike once more within the New Year in pursuit of bigger pay rises, the Royal College of Nursing warned yesterday.
Pat Cullen, the union’s basic secretary, stated this 12 months’s walkouts solely led to ‘modest’ progress in pay and staffing ranges and extra motion is required.
In a message to her half one million members, she accused politicians of solely doing sufficient to ‘save their very own skins’ and failing to ship the ‘revolution’ wanted.
Ms Cullen broadened the union’s marketing campaign for 2024 to incorporate in search of protected staffing ranges in addition to honest pay for nurses. There are greater than 40,000 nursing vacancies in England’s NHS with workers routinely caring for 10 to fifteen sufferers, which the RCN warns is unsafe.
Ms Cullen advised members their actions ‘pressured ministers’ to top-up the earlier 12 months’s pay settlement and ‘give greater than that they had needed to for the present 12 months’.
Pat Cullen, the union’s basic secretary, stated this 12 months’s walkouts solely led to ‘modest’ progress in pay and staffing ranges and extra motion is required
She added: ‘2024 is a basic election 12 months and each celebration shall be challenged by the RCN to reveal clear imaginative and prescient and arduous money for nursing, the NHS and social care. Let’s ensure that we once more push ministers additional than they need to go.’
Three days of NHS strike motion final week impacted 86,329 inpatient and outpatient appointments, in line with figures launched by NHS England.
Junior docs in search of a 35 per cent pay rise held a 72-hour stoppage between December 20 and 23, and at the moment are making ready for the longest strike in NHS historical past from January 3.
NHS England stated the variety of appointments axed resulting from industrial motion since December 2022 now stood at greater than 1.2million.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, nationwide medical director at NHS England, stated: ‘This newest spherical of strike motion has put an already overloaded heath service beneath considerably extra strain.’
Three days of NHS strike motion final week impacted 86,329 inpatient and outpatient appointments, in line with figures launched by NHS England
Junior docs in search of a 35 per cent pay rise held a 72-hour stoppage between December 20 and 23, and at the moment are making ready for the longest strike in NHS historical past
Matthew Taylor, chief government of the NHS Confederation which represents healthcare organisations, stated NHS leaders ‘proceed to despair’ on the affect of strikes on sufferers and are subsequent week’s six-day docs’ walkout with ‘trepidation’.
Health leaders have warned it’s more likely to spark widespread disruption as the primary week of the New Year is normally one of many busiest.
Earlier this 12 months, RCN members have been amongst a minority of non-doctor well being workers to reject a 5 per cent pay rise and lump sum of a minimum of £1,655.
But they have been made to just accept the supply as they belong to a coalition of well being unions that delivered a majority vote in favour of settling the dispute. A subsequent RCN strike poll did not ship a sufficiently big turnout for additional industrial motion.
The Department of Health and Social Care stated the 5 per cent pay rise and one-off awards have been ‘price over £2,000 on common for full-time nurses’.
A spokesman stated: ‘We have recruited greater than 50,000 further nurses in comparison with 2019… and the Long Term Workforce plan will make sure the NHS has the workers it wants over the following 15 years so sufferers proceed to obtain the absolute best care.’
