First-ever strike by UK nurses to protest salary increase
According to Newspremises, nurses in the UK are apparently going on strike for the first time ever to highlight their demand for more compensation as the cost of living in the country rises.
The majority of government-run National Health Service (NHS) employees in Britain chose to strike, according to their trade union’s report on November 9. According to the Royal College of Nursing, the strike will have a substantial negative impact on the already overcrowded healthcare system (RCN).
Following the first strike vote in its 106-year existence, the RCN, which has more than 300,000 members, said that industrial action will start before the end of the year.
In a statement, Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, said: “Our members are saying enough is enough as their anger has turned to action.
“This measure will benefit both patients and nurses equally. The bar is being set too low.
Many of England’s major hospitals will have RCN strikes, although some of them just fell short of the necessary turnout thresholds. All NHS employers in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales—all but one—met the prerequisite legal requirements—will be counted.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, referred to the news as “disappointing.” Along with the 3% wage boost from the previous year, he said that over a million NHS workers received pay raises of at least £1,400 this year and that 30,000 of the 50,000 extra nurses expected to be employed by 2024 had already been hired.
Yet, according to Barclay, “union proposals for a 17.6% wage settlement are just not acceptable or feasible. They are about three times what millions of employees outside the public sector would generally earn. Labour has likewise declined to support it.
“Unfortunately, this decision will cause some patients’ therapy to be delayed. During any strikes, my top priorities are to guarantee patient safety, minimize interruption, and maintain emergency services.
During strikes, NHS trusts are likely to delay planned operations while providing emergency treatment. According to health experts, they are getting ready for staffing levels similar to “bank holidays.”
