LONDON: More than 300,000 members of Britain’s biggest nursing union will begin voting on Thursday strike Demanding a wage hike with rising inflation, the biggest turnout in its 106-year history.
The Royal College of Nursing said people were forced to stop joining the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) after years of real pay cuts, leading to a severe shortage of staff throughout the service.
“We are underemployed, undervalued and underpaid,” said Pat Cullen, RCN’s general secretary and chief executive. “For years our profession has been pushed over the edge, and now patient safety is paying the price.”
The union said it wants a 5% plus inflation wage increase to offset real-term pay cuts as its members struggle to cope with rising cost of living.
The union’s boss said wages below inflation meant workers could neither afford to stay nor join the profession, adding that “patient care is at risk” because of the thousands of nursing jobs across the UK. Was”.
A spokesman for the government’s Department of Health and Social Care said he hoped nurses Will seriously consider the impact of any strike on patients.
“We value the hard work of NHS nurses and are working hard to support them,” the spokesman said, setting out the previous pay increases the sector had given.
A wave of industrial action could hit Britain’s healthcare system as both junior doctors and ambulance workers also plan to vote on wage disputes.
The GMB trade union announced on Thursday that around 3,000 paramedics and ambulance workers would be voted on to strike action in England.
The union’s senior organiser, Stuart Richards, said the country now faced “the first ambulance strike in 40 years” and demanded above-inflation wage increases for its NHS staff.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced on Monday that junior doctor members would vote for industrial action in early January after the government failed to meet their wage demands.
The NHS, still recovering from the hit to services during the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing its worst staffing crisis amid a backlog for care.
The NHS, which has provided free of-use healthcare since 1948, has also seen a record increase in the number of people waiting to begin routine hospital treatment and increased waiting times in accident and emergency departments.
The Royal College of Nursing said people were forced to stop joining the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) after years of real pay cuts, leading to a severe shortage of staff throughout the service.
“We are underemployed, undervalued and underpaid,” said Pat Cullen, RCN’s general secretary and chief executive. “For years our profession has been pushed over the edge, and now patient safety is paying the price.”
The union said it wants a 5% plus inflation wage increase to offset real-term pay cuts as its members struggle to cope with rising cost of living.
The union’s boss said wages below inflation meant workers could neither afford to stay nor join the profession, adding that “patient care is at risk” because of the thousands of nursing jobs across the UK. Was”.
A spokesman for the government’s Department of Health and Social Care said he hoped nurses Will seriously consider the impact of any strike on patients.
“We value the hard work of NHS nurses and are working hard to support them,” the spokesman said, setting out the previous pay increases the sector had given.
A wave of industrial action could hit Britain’s healthcare system as both junior doctors and ambulance workers also plan to vote on wage disputes.
The GMB trade union announced on Thursday that around 3,000 paramedics and ambulance workers would be voted on to strike action in England.
The union’s senior organiser, Stuart Richards, said the country now faced “the first ambulance strike in 40 years” and demanded above-inflation wage increases for its NHS staff.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced on Monday that junior doctor members would vote for industrial action in early January after the government failed to meet their wage demands.
The NHS, still recovering from the hit to services during the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing its worst staffing crisis amid a backlog for care.
The NHS, which has provided free of-use healthcare since 1948, has also seen a record increase in the number of people waiting to begin routine hospital treatment and increased waiting times in accident and emergency departments.