‘The darkest day’ of NHS strikes has hit
A 48-hour strike by nurses in England over the bank holiday will be cut short after a High Court judge ruled it unlawful; meanwhile a group of health workers have just accepted the governments pay offer whilst other members of staff have declined theirs.
This week, controversial news hit headlines when the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) revealed the government were trying to slash their upcoming strike times, however, today, the RCN have outlined authorities were successful as a High Court in London has ruled their action unlawful.
Pat Cullen, the RCN General Secretary, said this was ‘the darkest day’ of the dispute so far and the government needed to negotiate. Additionally, Downing Street said it was ‘regrettable’ the government had to go to court and it had tried to avoid it.
The judge ruled the RCN’s six-month mandate for strike action would have lapsed by Tuesday. Health Secretary Steve Barclay took legal action after NHS Employers said the last day of the planned strike was not covered by the mandate as the ballots closed on 2nd November at midday.
Ms Cullen said: ‘[The government] have won their legal battle today. But what this has led to is they have lost nursing and they’ve lost the public.
‘They’ve taken the most trusted profession through the courts, by the least trusted people.’
Against this backdrop, Unite Union members (made up of ambulance staff) have voted to reject the government’s latest pay offer, claiming the offer was a ‘joke’ and will be joining nurses as they will continue to hold more strikes.
55% of union members voted in the pay ballot, with just over half voting against the offer of a 5% wage rise this year and a cash payment for their work last year.
Following this vote, planned strikes in England at hospitals and ambulance trusts will go ahead next week.
Results from other unions on the same pay offer are mixed – members of the largest NHS union, Unison, have voted to accept the offer and GMB members are expected to announce their result later on today.
However, members of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have accepted the government’s pay deal. The offer covers two years and includes an additional one-off amount for 2022/23 and a 5% rise for 2023/24. The vote saw a turnout of 48% of eligible members working in the NHS in England, with 57% voting to accept the deal and 43% rejecting it.
The RCM said the offer was ‘not perfect’ but was a ‘step forward’.
Image: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona