In December, British Nurses went on strike for the first time in forever. Instead of budging, the UK government seeks to end the strikes in a different way. Read our quick recap.
New year, same shit: While the NHS crisis and staff shortages continue (read more here), English nurses are gearing up for their second round of strikes this Wednesday and Thursday. It is a continuation of their unprecedented strike action in December, where members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) walked out for 12 hours on both the 15th and 20th of December – the first strike since the association was founded.
In the first few days of January, it appeared as if the second strike might be averted. RCN general secretary Pat Cullen signaled a willingness to dial back on RCN’s initial demands of a pay rise of up to 19 %, as long as the government would meet them halfway. On the other side of the table, the British prime minister Rishi Sunak insinuated the government would be willing to help with the skyrocketing costs of living with a one-off payment and a higher pay deal for the next year.
However, all hopes for a fast agreement were shattered soon: On the 9th of January union and government representatives met for talks described as “bitterly disappointing” by the RCN. No concrete offers were brought to the table. Instead, Health secretary Steve Barclay claims to seek an “open conversation about productivity and efficiency” – an “insult to [their] members”, as the unions put it. Union speaker Onay Kasab comments: “All the government are interested in is saying that in order to justify a payment, we need to come up with productivity savings in the NHS. That is absolutely ludicrous. […] We are talking about people who are working well beyond their contracted hours anyway just to get the job done […]”
Thus, the negotiations have once again come to a halt and as of January 15th, no further talks are scheduled. “The prime minister gave nursing staff a little optimism that he was beginning to move, but seven days later he appears entirely uninterested in finding a way to stop this”, Cullen sums up.
While negotiations are not moving forward, business secretary Grant Shapps seeks to further stoke the fires instead: A proposed new anti-strike bill would grant him the power to decide statutory minimum service levels for different public services on strike days – and any workers who breach these levels could be laid off as a consequence. Unions called the bill “spiteful” and regard it as an attack on the right to strike, which the government obviously denies. Regardless, the bill is likely to exacerbate industrial disputes instead of limiting their impact. If staff shortages already impact services and healthcare now, it is difficult to see how firing further workers should rectify the situation.
Nevertheless, this legislation won’t be able to stop the nurses’ strike in the next few days. The RCN is determined to continue their fight for a better pay and safer staffing levels, until an agreement is reached. If no progress is made until the end of this month, the strike action will continue on into February – and bigger than ever: all eligible members in England would join the protest. Nurses in Wales are also expected to strike next month. While the government certainly won’t be happy with the continued strike actions, the RCN has the public’s opinion on their side. According to a recent opinion poll, 57 % of voters support the nurses striking for more pay.
Image source: Steven Cordes, unsplash
