Labour’s Shadow Chancellor has declined to say if she would give nurses a penny more than the pay offer that has pushed them to strike.
Rachel Reeves vowed to hire more NHS staff and “get round the negotiating table” as the Royal College of Nursing stages its first walkout in a century on December 15.
But she would not say she would beat the Tory government’s offer of a 4.75% pay jump - below 11.1% inflation - if she gets into 11 Downing Street.
Tory Health Secretary Steve Barclay is refusing to reopen pay talks, to the fury of the unions.
Asked if she would be willing to offer nurses a penny more than the Tories are, Ms Reeves told journalists: “I’ve always said Labour will not pluck numbers out of the air.
“Everything in our manifesto will be fully costed and fully funded.
“That’s why this week we voted in Parliament to get rid of the non-dom tax status and use that money instead to invest in one of the biggest ever expansions of the NHS workforce.”
The NHS pay offer was announced in July. Told she had had months to think about it, she repeated: “Well, I’m not going to pluck numbers out of the air.
“And I’ve said everything in our manifesto is going to be fully-costed and fully-funded.”
Speaking at Labour’s business conference, Ms Reeves insisted the nursing dispute was “not just about pay” but also about workload, dignity and staffing shortages.
She admitted “I totally understand why workers are looking for a pay rise”, but pinned the blame squarely on the Tory government.
“The reason we didn’t have strikes under the last Labour government was the last Labour government treated key workers with respect and got round the negotiating table,” she said.
“This government has been sitting on its hands for the last five months.
“We’ve got no one to blame but the government for this industrial action, even at this late stage.”
Keir Starmer added: “I don’t think those going on strike want strikes and disruption. They are facing a very real cost of living crisis. They’re struggling to pay their bills.”
Labour has come out fighting against Tory threats to impose new legal limits on paramedics’ and firefighters’ right to strike.
Ministers are already looking at “minimum service levels” on the railways. Now Rishi Sunak is said to want to expand this to 999 services, with laws in early January.
Ms Reeves said: “We don’t support new legislation to make it harder to take industrial action, that stops people withdrawing their labour.”
She and Keir Starmer both refused to confirm if they would repeal Tory minimum service laws - if they’re already on the statute book before the election.
Mr Starmer twice declined to say if he would repeal them, saying only they were “the wrong legislation”.
Ms Reeves also twice declined to say she would repeal minimum service levels, instead saying “we’ll fight it every step of the way”.
She told a journalist: “They haven’t even put anything forward yet so I think you’re jumping the gun a little bit.
“The Conservatives U-turn every day of the week and I would expect to have several more before we get to the next election.”
However, sources later confirmed Labour would repeal minimum service laws if they get into government.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said in September she would defend the right to strike “as long as I have breath in my body”.
Ms Reeves re-confirmed Labour would repeal the Tories’ 2016 Trade Union Act - which hiked up thresholds on ballots to strike.
She rebuffed claims this would lead to more strike “chaos”, saying: “Any government would be hard pressed to create any more chaos than what you’re getting under the Conservatives today.
“I do not accept that our policy would lead to more strikes.
“On the contrary, even with this legislation the Tories have put on the statute books, we’ve had more strikes than at any time in the last 25 years.”
