British nurses are ready to strike until the end of the year if the government will not meet their demands for higher wages. Pat Cullen, the head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union, made this warning on the air of the BBC broadcaster on Sunday.
When asked if union members were willing to heed the calls of the Department of Health and stop protesting, she said no.
“No, our nurses certainly won’t do that. We have strikes planned for the end of the month and the beginning of May. Then we will take an immediate vote among our members. If the vote is successful, it will mean more strikes right up until Christmas,” Cullen said.
On April 14, it was reported that RCN members refused to compromise with the government and rejected its proposal to increase wages. Fifty-four percent of the vote was for continuing strikes, while 46 percent favored compromise. The government proposal would give health workers a lump sum of between £1,65,000 and 3,800, depending on their category. In addition, their salary will be increased by 5%.
Earlier, the government called the RCN’s demand to index wages by 19% unfeasible. In response, the union announced that a new 48-hour strike is to take place from April 30 to May 2. For the first time, no exceptions will be made. For example, nurses serving emergency rooms, intensive care units, and cancer wards will not go to work.
A wave of strikes triggered by the sharp rise in the cost of living (inflation at the end of 2022 was 10.5%) and the fall in real incomes, swept the United Kingdom at the end of last year. In addition to health workers, the strikes included railway workers, bus drivers, border guards, letter carriers, teachers, university professors and representatives of several other professions. British authorities have repeatedly stated that they cannot afford to raise the salaries of public sector employees to the level of inflation, as such measures would further increase prices in the country and put an excessive burden on the budget.
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