NHS nurses may launch extra strikes after Rishi Sunak ‘misplaced contact with actuality’

NHS nurses may launch a crippling strike within the run as much as the General Election as a result of Rishi Sunak has “lost touch with reality” of their dispute over pay.

General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Pat Cullen as we speak cautions the Prime Minister: “If he thinks our pay dispute is done and dusted, he is mistaken. This fight is not resolved as the election year begins.” And she continues: “I warn all parties that every option – including strike action – is on the table.”

Urging voters to punish the Conservatives on the polls if they can’t attain a pay deal she added: “To succeed at the ballot box, political leaders should remember that when you invest in nurses, you invest in patients. When they look for your votes this year, I know Mirror readers will remind them of that.”

The menace comes after junior docs walked out on the longest strike within the historical past of the Health Service. Medics warned years of actual phrases cuts to pay had left the NHS unable to retain employees, with a whole lot of educated docs leaving Britain to work in Australia.

The Prime Minister enraged nurses this week, claiming they’d agreed to the federal government’s pay provide. Discussing the junior docs strike, he advised the BBC ’s Laura Kuenssberg: “The Government has now reached resolution with every other part of the NHS, nurses, midwives, paramedics, consultant doctors, specialty doctors most recently.”

But RCN members rejected the provide and stays in dispute over pay.

Nurses in Northern Ireland are set to stroll out on Thursday (18JAN), after ready 9 months for this 12 months’s pay provide to be carried out. With Northern Ireland’s Assembly and Executive nonetheless not functioning, nursing employees have nonetheless not acquired their pay rise and fallen behind colleagues in different components of the UK.

“For years, nursing pay hasn’t been treated as a priority – and now nursing staff are fighting for better pay under a system that does not recognise their safety-critical skills,” Ms Cullen stated. “How is it fair for somebody to work decades in the NHS and still be on the lowest possible pay band?

“NHS nurses need a fresh start. Too many start and leave on the measly starting salary. Other governments recognise the value of the nursing profession but ours force nurses onto picket lines to fight for their pay. This is a political choice and it has to end.”

Ministers supplied nurses in England a backdated bonus of between £1,250 and 1,600 for 2022-23 and a pay rise of 5% for many employees in 2023-24. But whereas the provide was accepted by the NHS Staff Council, it was rejected by the RCN, who stated it was “the lowest pay award in the public sector for 2023-24.”

The RCN is braced for a tense battle with the Government over security, with newest figures exhibiting nurses recurrently take care of 10 to fifteen sufferers. The union warned earlier than Christmas that that is harmful, with an alarming 40,000 nursing vacancies in England’s NHS.

More than one million outpatient appointments and operations had been cancelled final 12 months, in addition to greater than 60,000 neighborhood and psychological well being appointment, as a consequence of strike motion throughout the Health Service. This week the federal government launched a session on proposals to revamp the pay scale construction for nursing employees.

Health minister Andrew Stephenson stated: “We hugely value the work of nurses, who play a vital role in the NHS. We have listened to union concerns and are launching this call for evidence to explore the risks and benefits of a separate pay structure for nurses.

“I want stakeholders to share their expertise and help us collate feedback from across the healthcare sector, ultimately helping to make the NHS a better place to work.”

The course of is predicted to take round 12 weeks.

If Rishi Sunak thinks our pay dispute is completed – he’s mistaken

By Pat Cullen, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nurses

Has Rishi Sunak misplaced contact with actuality? At least twice final week he tried to inform you that nurses had been comfortable along with his NHS pay provide. In fact, it wasn’t sufficient and we voted in opposition to it. If he thinks our pay dispute is completed and dusted, he’s mistaken. This battle is just not resolved because the election 12 months begins.

Nursing employees are the beating coronary heart of the NHS. The authorities has didn’t recognise their worth and pay them what they deserve. The result’s an NHS trying prefer it’s on life assist – with hundreds of thousands of sufferers caught on ready lists.

Walk onto any ward and also you’ll see nursing employees routinely dashing between a dozen or extra sufferers, with many even handled within the corridors. Drastically unsafe and also you frankly deserve higher. Our marketing campaign is about you.

This very week final 12 months, nurses took historic strike motion for his or her pay and their sufferers. The public supported us then, and thanks for nonetheless backing us as we speak. Nurses in Northern Ireland – who’ve nonetheless not acquired a penny of the pay rise they had been promised as a consequence of political wrangling – will once more take to picket strains on Thursday.

For years, nursing pay hasn’t been handled as a precedence – and now nursing employees are combating for higher pay underneath a system that doesn’t recognise their safety-critical abilities. How is it honest for any individual to work a long time within the NHS and nonetheless be on the bottom potential pay band?

NHS nurses want a contemporary begin. Too many begin and depart on the measly beginning wage. Other governments recognise the worth of the nursing occupation however ours pressure nurses onto picket strains to battle for his or her pay. This is a political alternative and it has to finish.

Already, the federal government is delayed for this 12 months’s NHS pay deal. As the election approaches, we’ll push politicians to prioritise nursing employees. I warn all events that each possibility – together with strike motion – is on the desk.

To succeed on the poll field, political leaders ought to do not forget that if you spend money on nurses, you spend money on sufferers. When they search for your votes this 12 months, I do know Mirror readers will remind them of that.