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Striking nurses set to return to picket lines for second time

Nurses’ fight for better pay and working conditions continues today with thousands staging 12-hour walkouts from 7am

Nurses’ fight for better pay and working conditions continues today with thousands staging 12-hour walkouts from 7am

A picket line at Royal Liverpool University Hospital on the first day of strike action last Thursday
A picket line at Royal Liverpool University Hospital on the first day of strike action last Thursday Picture: Alamy

Nurses are set to return to the picket lines for the second time in a week on Tuesday as their fight for better pay and working conditions continues.

Thousands of nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are staging at 12-hour walk out from 7am on day two of the historic strikes, with the RCN warning industrial action could continue for up to six months.

Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay has repeatedly suggested he will not negotiate on the current pay offer, though insisting his door remains open. Last-ditch efforts to avoid strike action failed last week after Mr Barclay and RCN general secretary Pat Cullen were unable to reach an agreement on pay.

Public support in first strike saw people delivering snacks and hot drinks to picketing nurses

Without a resolution, it means RCN members will be holding industrial action for a second time, with many nurses saying they cannot keep their patients safe under current conditions in the NHS. More strike dates could follow in the New Year. Ahead of today’s strike RCN general secretary Pat Cullen called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to negotiate on pay and ‘get this wrapped up by Christmas’.

‘The prime minister should ask himself what is motivating nursing staff to stand outside their hospitals for a second day so close to Christmas. They are prepared to sacrifice a day’s pay to have their concerns heard. Their determination stems as much from worries over patient safety and the future of the NHS as personal hardship.

‘I will negotiate with him at any point to stop nursing staff and patients going into the New Year facing such uncertainty. But if this government isn’t prepared to do the right thing we’ll have no choice but to continue in January, and that will be deeply regrettable.’

A picket line at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London
A picket line at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London Picture: John Houlihan

On 15 December members of the RCN braved freezing temperatures to stand on picket lines. Nurses reported remarkable support from the public with people delivering snacks, mince pies and hot drinks, tooting their horns in solidarity and sharing good wishes on social media.

This was despite NHS data showing that around 16,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries were cancelled and rescheduled in England, though this was less than the 70,000 suggested by health minister Maria Caulfield.

With ambulance workers and paramedics also due to strike on Wednesday, cabinet minister Oliver Dowden said it was ‘not fair’ that armed forces personnel were covering for striking workers over the festive period and urged unions to ‘give the military a break this Christmas’.

Strikes will last 12 hours from 7am at some 80 trusts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland

On Monday RCN director for England Patricia Marquis told Times Radio that nurses are trying to ‘manage every day in a health service that is in complete crisis’.

‘All of our members and all of us want to find a resolution. If we can avoid the strikes even tomorrow, we will. But the only way to do that is by having a conversation about what this is about, which is pay and safe staffing,’ she said.

Strikes will last for 12 hours starting from 7am today at some 80 trusts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. RCN members in Scotland have now finished voting on whether to accept a revised pay offer of around 8%, with the result of the ballot expected this week.

Addresses where picket lines will operate can be found by clicking here: RCN strike action in December 2022


Find out more

RCN strike action in December 2022: Employers where strikes will take place in the first phase of RCN industrial action

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