Health Secretary Steve Barclay will meet with nursing officials for “intensive” talks on Wednesday afternoon as a minister said that NHS strikes “must end” to ease the “enormous” pressure on the health service.
In a joint statement released on Tuesday night, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Government said that strike action would be paused while both sides engage in talks over “pay, terms and conditions, and productivity enhancing reforms”.
It follows weeks of deadlock in negotiations, with the RCN’s General Secretary Pat Cullen on Friday saying she had not spoken with ministers in over a month.
The next industrial action pencilled in for nurses was on March 1, when they had planned to strike continuously for 48 hours. It would have included nursing staff from emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempted.
The RCN has demanded a pay rise of 5 per cent above inflation but has indicated it would accept a lower offer. Previously, the union pledged to call off strikes if the Government committed to talks on pay.
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said both sides were negotiating in “good faith” to end the dispute.
He told Sky News: “We need to bring these strikes to an end. There’s enormous pressure on the health service, people in my constituency want to see their NHS working properly. These strikes only make that more difficult.”
Mr Mercer said that he would “always argue” for public sector workers to be paid more but that the solution to the dispute was not “cost-free”, adding that significant pay rises would prompt inflation to increase.
On Tuesday night, Ms Cullen told Sky News she was “confident” that she could strike an agreement with the Government.
“I think this is a significant step forward, every nurse in England can breathe a sigh of relief and, more importantly, our patients can.
“So, let’s get round the table ... I’m very confident with the move from Government and certainly we will do our very best to make sure that a fair pay deal is obtained for all of our nursing.”
Separate strike action being taken by paramedics, physiotherapists and junior doctors is set to go ahead despite hopes of a deal for nurses.
A spokesperson for Unison, which represents ambulance workers, insisted that the Government’s decision to meet with the RCN would “do nothing to solve the NHS pay dispute”.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Tuesday submitted its evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body for the 2023/24 financial year.
Officials said a 3.5 per cent pay rise for staff would be affordable for the UK Government.
But the Financial Times reported that ministers are looking at a possible 5 per cent pay rise for public sector workers after the Treasury was given an unexpected £30bn windfall.
Meanwhile, civil servants will meet with the British Medical Association (BMA) on Wednesday afternoon after junior doctor members of the union voted overwhelmingly for strike action. A 72-hour walkout will take place in March, though a date has not yet been confirmed.
It is understood that Mr Barclay will not be in attendance.
More than 140,000 appointments have already been postponed due to industrial action, according to NHS Providers.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers, said that NHS bosses would be “breathing a sigh of relief” that the Government and RCN were entering pay negotiations.
“The past weeks have seen a worrying escalation of industrial action, which has hit patients hard. Both sides being committed to finding a fair and reasonable settlement is the glimmer of hope we all needed.”
Separately, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has written to teaching unions inviting them to “formal talks on pay, conditions and reform” on the condition that strike action next week is cancelled.
