The leader of the UK’s main nurses union, Pat Cullen, has urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to make a “significant” new pay offer to the organization to prevent planned strikes in England next week.
Elements of the College of Nursing union -composed of 90% women- are expected to join a strike this Monday along with other workers in the health sector, such as paramedics or ambulance personnel, affiliated with the GMB and Unite unions.
On Tuesday, it will be members of the RCN union, which represents two thirds of the nurses in the National Health Service (SNS), who will join the strike.
In a letter sent to the Conservative leader, seen by Britain’s BBC, Cullen makes “a direct appeal” to Sunak, for the first time, telling him that a “significant” renewed offer or new negotiations could suspend the action. .
“I ask that you use this weekend to realign the government in the eyes of the citizens and show that you are on the side of worthy and hard-working taxpayers,” Cullen said in the letter.
According to the union leader, there can be no “more sensible way” to demonstrate this commitment than to “end the nurses’ strike”.
This renewed appeal to the executive comes after NHS health workers in Wales called off their scheduled strike after receiving an enhanced offer of an additional 3% for the current fiscal year.
“As a result, we have canceled our strike in Wales scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. In Scotland, talks continue on additional pay for the current fiscal year and there are no strikes planned,” Cullen added.
The conservative executive of Rishi Sunak believes that the demands of these workers to improve their conditions cannot be met and maintains that wage increases are decided by independent pay review bodies.
Source: TSF
