Thousands of nurses walked off their jobs in England on Thursday, December 15, 2022, escalating a wave of industrial unrest in the country this month.
The nurses are on strike to demand better pay amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Emergency hospital care will continue without any hitches, and nurses will still staff chemotherapy, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units.
However, less urgent hospital treatments were expected to be affected across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The strike action was described as the biggest by nurses since the U.K.’s National Health Service was established in 1948.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for a pay rise of 5% above retail inflation, which on current figures amounts to a 19% hike, and for the government to fill a record number of staff vacancies that, it argues, is endangering patient safety.
The government has said the demand was unaffordable, and talks between the two sides on Monday, December 12, 2022 proved futile.
The head of the RCN, Pat Cullen, said the government has a responsibility to address vacant nursing posts to “stop the drain out of our profession.”
British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 that his government has “consistently spoken to all the unions involved in all the pay disputes.”
Train travel across the country also was severely disrupted this week as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union staged a strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. They also plan to stay off the job on Friday and Saturday.
The strike closed around half of the U.K.’s rail lines. Some parts of the country, including most of Scotland and Wales, will have no train service.
Postal workers in the Communication Workers Union also staged a fresh 48-hour national walkout this week and have more strike days scheduled during the run-up to Christmas.
Sunak has been accused by opposition parties of refusing to negotiate with unions in good faith, and not doing enough to prevent strikes from escalating.
Pay Rise Demanded Is Unaffordable
UK Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, noted that the government is “hugely grateful” to nurses but says the pay rise being demanded is unaffordable.
“In the autumn statement, we committed an extra £6.6 billion of extra funding to the NHS,” Barclay disclosed.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) wants a 19% pay rise and says below inflation increases are compromising care by making it hard to attract and retain nurses.
Commenting on the 19% pay rise, Barclay opined, “We’ve got to balance that against what is affordable to the wider economy.”
“Asking for 19% pay rise, way above what most viewers themselves are receiving, is not affordable given the many other economic pressures that we face.”
Steve Barclay
Health Minister, Maria Caulfield iterated that she empathizes with nurses but said the 19% pay increase being demanded by the nurses’ union was “an unrealistic ask.”
Earlier this year, the RCN rejected an offer by the government to increase nurses’ pay by a minimum of £1,400 ($1,707) a year, which amounted to an average rise of 4.3%, well below the rate of inflation.
