Labor

UK Nurses to Go on Strike for First Time in History

Published NOV 10 2022

Story

Image credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images [via The Guardian]

The Facts

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) confirmed on Wednesday that nurses across the UK would go on strike for the first time in history, with staff in 131 National Health Service (NHS) organizations in England, 12 in Wales, 23 in Scotland, and 11 in Northern Ireland voting in favor of the action.
Independent
The RCN, comprised of more than 300K members, said the strike to demand better pay would begin before the end of the year following the first-ever strike vote in its 106-year-old history.
CNN
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said in an official statement that “anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough," with the union requesting a pay increase of 5% above inflation, which is currently at 10%.
Al Jazeera
According to the RCN, NHS nurses' salaries have declined by 20% in real terms over the last 10 years, with pressure reportedly mounting as 25k nursing staff members have left in the last year, and 7M patients are on waiting lists to receive treatment.
Al Jazeera
Downing Street, now led by PM Rishi Sunak, said the plans were "deeply regrettable" and that the pay demand — which would amount to £9B ($10.25B) — was “not deliverable” given the current economic condition.
The Telegraph
The union has made it clear that priority will still be given to treating emergency patients under a “life-preserving care model" after the strike begins.
The Telegraph

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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The Spin

Left narrative

Finally, nurses in the UK are standing up for themselves as the country's Tory leadership continues to assault working people. Nurses — an absolutely essential part of any society — have been underpaid for years and are rightly fighting back. The onus is now on the government to meet them at the negotiating table.

guardian

Right narrative

No one is saying that nurses don't deserve to be paid more for their life-saving work, but the current economic situation in the UK is just too bleak to afford such an increase. A strike will only serve to cripple the already faltering NHS, which will see patients suffer, and inequalities in care worsen.