On Monday, tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers strike in an intensifying pay dispute, straining the National Health Service, the health minister said (NHS).
Nurses and ambulance workers have been protesting individually since late last year, but Monday’s strike, mostly in England, will be the NHS’s largest in 75 years.
England’s top doctor, Stephen Powis, said this week’s strike action, which includes physiotherapists on Thursday, would likely be the most disruptive.
Health workers want a pay boost that matches Britain’s worst inflation in four decades, but the government believes it would be unaffordable and raise prices, interest rates, and mortgage payments.
Since last summer, 500,000 workers, primarily from the public sector, have been striking, putting pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to resolve the conflicts and prevent disruption to essential services like trains and schools.
Health minister Steve Barclay advised people to use emergency services and keep appointments unless they were canceled but warned of inconvenience.
“Despite contingency precautions, strikes by ambulance and nursing unions this week will certainly cause extra delays for patients who already suffer longer waits owing to COVID backlogs,” he said.
“I have held fruitful negotiations with the trade unions on salary and affordability and urge them to call off the strikes.”
On Sunday, Unite head Sharon Graham told the BBC that Sunak should negotiate. “This government endangers lives,” she warned.
Nurses go.
Most Britons are proud of the NHS, yet millions of patients are on waiting lists for surgeries and dozens each month are denied emergency care.
The RCN reports that 25,000 nurses left the field in the past year due to a decade of low pay, affecting patient care.
After weeks of negotiations, the RCN still wants a 5% wage increase over inflation.
On Monday, thousands of GMB and Unite-represented ambulance workers will strike over pay. Both unions plan more strikes.
Ambulance employees will respond to emergency calls.
As they consider Welsh government pay offers, nurses and some ambulance workers in Wales have called off Monday strikes.
Sunak told TalkTV last week that he would “love to give the nurses a large pay boost” but that the government had to make tough decisions and support the NHS through medical equipment and ambulances.
