If the Tories don’t stop the strikes, they face defeat like Labour in 1979
The TelegraphDec 13, 2022
Thousands of UK National Health Service (NHS) nurses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland on Thursday held the first of two day-long walkouts, with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) demanding a 19% pay raise and for the record number of staff vacancies to be filled.
Calls for a 19% pay bump — 5% above retail inflation — come after, when adjusted for inflation, nurses' pay dropped 1.2% every year between 2010 and 2017, according to the Health Foundation charity. For the first three of those years, their pay was frozen.
This is highly reminiscent of the strikes of 1979, which saw much of the country brought to a standstill. The only difference is Margaret Thatcher was elected that year to quash the union dominance and restore order. Though the pay concerns of nurses are understandable, a minimum level of service must be maintained when it comes to essential sectors. Sunak needs to put his foot down.
If Sunak sees himself as the successor to Margaret Thatcher, he should be reminded that she agreed to a 25% pay raise with trade unions in 1979. While private sector pay has grown 7% annually, public sector workers like nurses have received a dismal 2% average, dangerously below the inflation rate. Thatcher was a realist who understood the impact the public sector has on the wider economy, and Sunak should realize the same.