Ambulance workers announced a wave of extra strike dates Wednesday as nurses protested on picket lines in the latest dispute over pay levels in Britain’s National Health Service.
(Bloomberg) — Ambulance workers announced a wave of extra strike dates Wednesday as nurses protested on picket lines in the latest dispute over pay levels in Britain’s National Health Service.
The GMB union said more than 10,000 members across much of England and Wales would walk out on Feb. 6 and 20 and March 6 and 20. Ambulance workers in the West Midlands will strike on Jan. 23 and those in the northwest on Jan. 24.
Ambulance workers were already due to strike again next week having done so in December and earlier in January.
Unions representing NHS workers accuse the government of imposing years of real-terms pay cuts, resulting in mass vacancies that endanger patients. Ministers point to extra money earmarked for health services and say this year’s pay rise was determined by an independent review body.
“The only way to solve this dispute is a proper pay offer,” said Rachel Harrison, the GMB’s general secretary. “But it seems the cold, dead hands of the Number 10 and 11 Downing Street are stopping this from happening.”
Nurses said Wednesday that people are dying unnecessarily in the beleaguered NHS as they kicked off another day of strikes.
The Royal College of Nursing staged it latest walkouts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Health Secretary Steve Barclay warning that the industrial action will hurt patients.
However, Pat Cullen, the union’s general secretary, said: “People aren’t dying because nurses are striking. Nurses are striking because people are dying.”
Barclay said Tuesday that around 30,000 appointments had been canceled due to the previous two days of nurses’ strikes in December.
Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said the best way to help workers was to bring down inflation. The government has repeatedly argued that generous raises would risk a wage-price spiral.
“Today’s figures show there is no room for any deviation from our central objective of the year to halve inflation, so we deal with the anger of public sector workers,” Hunt said after the rate of price increases dipped for a second month but remained at 10.5%.
Inflation must be tackled so that workers “can see an end to this very insidious erosion of their pay packets,” the chancellor added.
The RCN has announced further walkouts on Feb. 6-7 that will affect 73 NHS trusts, compared to 55 Wednesday. The strikes next month will not take place in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Pay Talks
Strikes are building up across the NHS with ambulance workers due to protest again next week and junior doctors balloting for action, as workers reject pay rises which fail to keep up with inflation.
Unions are keen to talk about their pay package this year and although there was some indication from the government this could happen, Barclay stressed the government’s original position negotiations should deal with next year’s pay.
“I have had constructive talks with the Royal College of Nursing and other unions about the 2023-24 pay process and look forward to continuing that dialogue,” Barclay said.
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