Talks to avert the nursing strike have failed after the union leader behind the action accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of “belligerence” and refusing to discuss pay.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said nurses were “not getting an extra penny” despite her attending talks on Monday (December 12), three days before their first strike date in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden warned the Government “cannot eliminate” the risks of a wave of strike action this month after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting.
He said ministers will be “straining every sinew” to minimise the disruption, with paramedics, train staff and border officials among those scheduled to walk out. The first RCN strike looks set to begin on Thursday (December 15) – with a second date set for Tuesday – despite the talks between Barclay and Cullen.
“The Government was true to its word – they would not talk to me about pay,” the RCN boss said in a statement. “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to show nurses why they should not strike this week.
“Regrettably, they are not getting an extra penny. Ministers had too little to say and I had to speak at length about the unprecedented strength of feeling in the profession.
“I expressed my deep disappointment at the belligerence – they have closed their books and walked away.”
The union is demanding a pay rise of five per cent above the RPI rate of inflation, which was 14.2 per cent in October, but Cullen has hinted she could compromise if the Government negotiates on pay. Barclay has been sticking with the independent pay review body’s recommendation of a £1,400 raise.
He was under increasing pressure to settle a deal after strikes by ambulance staff and some NHS workers in Scotland were called off after members of two unions voted to accept the Scottish Government’s recent pay deal. Unite and Unison members called off action after negotiations with Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and the intervention of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The new deal would mean NHS workers in Scotland would remain the best-paid in the UK and workers would get pay rises ranging from £2,205 to £2,751. For the lowest paid it would be a rise of 11.3 per cent, with an average rise of 7.5 per cent.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said Barclay “again listened to the RCN’s position on pay and reiterated the Government has agreed to the recommendations of the independent pay review body”. The official added: “He said that any further pay increase would mean taking money away from frontline services and reducing the 7.2 million elective backlog.
“Mr Barclay said he would continue to engage with the RCN as we move into the pay review process for next year and on non-pay related issues.”
Meanwhile, Dowden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, chaired the meeting of the Government’s emergency response committee, with military figures in attendance. He reiterated pleas for workers to call off action to “give families a break”, but admitted contingency plans to use troops to help fill the gaps will not be enough to “remove all risks”.
“Of course, this Government will be straining every sinew to make sure we minimise those risks, but we cannot eliminate them,” he told broadcasters. “The fair and reasonable thing for the unions to do particularly in a time when winter is biting, is to call off those strikes, give families a break, particularly over winter time.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of a “colossal failure of leadership”. He told ITV’s Peston: “I think many people watching this would be astonished – they think it’s bizarre – that between now and Wednesday we have an opportunity for the Government to prevent the strike on Thursday.
“All they’ve got to do is open the door and go and walk in and get around the table and talk about the issues that are … of course pay. But for the Government to say, ‘There is going to be a strike on Thursday, we’re not even prepared to talk between now and Wednesday to avert that strike’. It’s a colossal failure of leadership.”
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