A dramatic offer was made by the health unions on Saturday night to call off the strikes that may cripple the NHS during holidays if the government agrees to start serious negotiations over pay. This is the first move taken by the biggest union of the country Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to resolve a dispute that has remained in deadlock for weeks.
RCN’s general secretary Pat Cullen said that she was willing to “press pause” on industrial action if Health Secretary Steve Barclay is willing to strike a deal.
“Negotiate with nurses and avoid this strike. Five times my offer to negotiate has been turned. I will press pause on it when the health secretary says he will negotiate seriously on our dispute this year. That means each of us giving some ground,” she said.
“He gains nothing by ignoring the representatives of the NHS workforce. The public blames government for this dire situation, and they have to face up to it. A swift change of tactics will pay off for all concerned,” Cullen added.
On December 15 and 20, thousands of nurses had planned to go on strike after the government failed to meet their demand for better pay. Also, more than 10,000 ambulance workers were planning to go on strike on December 21 and 28.
UK plans ‘strike-full’ Christmas
This year, the UK is likely to witness a miserable and not merry Christmas as various strikes have been planned across the nation. The workers in the UK – from mails to hospital staff, to railways, to teachers – have been unhappy with the British government.
With strikes announced by most unions demanding better working conditions and better pay, the country is likely to battle the widespread unrest till January.
More than 40,000 rail workers of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) are set to stage a walk-out before and after Christmas.
Industrial action in December has also been announced by the Transport Salaried Staff Association. The workers, who are protesting over job security, work conditions and PF, have planned to hold strikes on December 13, 14, 16 and 17.
Border Force officers at some airports in the UK have also decided to go on a strike around Christmas, due to which hundreds of soldiers have been put in a position where they need to cancel their leave.
Royal Mail Workers are also planning to go on a strike on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24, which are going to affect deliveries with the last days for sending Christmas posts becoming December 16 for first class and December 12 for second class.
For the first time in 40 years, strikes were also carried out by teachers in Scotland after talks over pay deal failed. On November 24, a member of the largest teaching union in Scotland walked out of the classrooms.
(With inputs from agencies)
