Posted 30 June 2023 - 09:00
Posted 30 June 2023 - 09:00
News
Pay dispute: 48-hour strike will go ahead if stalemate continues
‘Don’t leave us behind,’ say protesting nurses, calling for equal pay with all other UK nurses in face of continuing cost of living crisis
‘Don’t leave us behind,’ say protesting nurses, calling for equal pay with all other UK nurses in face of continuing cost of living crisis
Frustrated nurses working in Northern Ireland’s health service will hold a 48-hour strike in September unless their pay is brought in line with the rest of the UK.
Members of Unison held a protest outside the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast this week, demanding an end to the pay offer stalemate.
Nurses protest in Belfast after continued ‘denial of pay justice’
It comes after the Northern Ireland secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris announced the government will not be funding a pay rise for nurses in 2023-24 due to budget limitations.
As protesters gathered on Wednesday 28 June, Unison convenor for health reps Stephanie Greenwood told members the union intends to withdraw labour and ‘take to the streets’.
She said: ‘Food prices are still high, energy bills and living costs are squeezing our members hard. Why should our secretary of state think it is okay to deny pay justice and withhold funding? We are here today to tell him it is not okay.
‘We are here to tell him that we are planning to return to industrial action in the month of September if he and local politicians continue to sit on the fence. A continuous period of strike action over at least a 48-hour period across all health workplaces is on the cards.
‘As sure as night follows day, we will withdraw our labour and take to the streets if we are left behind.’
This year, the budget for the health service in Northern Ireland has been set by the UK government due to the lack of a functioning executive in Stormont.
The situation has left nurses and other health and social care workers in limbo as they have been unable to negotiate a pay award in the same way as colleagues in England, Wales and Scotland.
RCN supports plan to strike unless there is immediate progress
Last month members of the RCN Northern Ireland held a protest calling on movement on a pay offer with fears that nurses in the country are being left behind.
At the time RCN director for Northern Ireland Rita Devlin said: ‘Nurses in Northern Ireland are the worst paid in the UK. It is no wonder we have issues with recruitment and retention to our health service. Unless there is immediate progress, RCN members in Northern Ireland will feel they have no alternative other than to return to the picket lines, even though this is the last thing they want to do.’
The Northern Ireland Office and the Department of Health NI were both contacted for comment.
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