UK health workers announce more strikes for 2023.news

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “sad” and “disappointed” by the widespread strike, but refused to negotiate.

UK health workers announced another strike in January as a long-running dispute with the government over wages and conditions is set to last until 2023.

The Royal College of Nursing said on Friday that thousands of nurses will strike again on Jan. 18 and 19 after two days of outings in December. I am asking for a raise.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters he was “sad” and “disappointed” about the widespread strike, but said refusal to negotiate public sector salaries was “the right thing to do” in the long run. claimed.

A strike date for the Scottish Nurses Union is also due to be announced in the new year after voting this week to reject a salary proposal from the Scottish government.

Inflation was 10.7% in November. This is largely due to higher food and energy prices following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I don’t want to prolong this debate, but the Prime Minister has left us a choice,” said Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, on Friday.

Paramedics, represented by the GMB union, also have a new date of action scheduled for Jan. 11, after suspending another strike later this month.

GMB Secretary of State Rachel Harrison said, “People across the country are supporting us and we care a lot about them.” That’s why I’m suspending the act.”

Health Secretary Steve Berkley said trade unions had announced a coordinated strike in January. [National Health Service] We are already under extreme pressure. ”

Noting that picket line ambulance workers had raised concerns about working conditions, Barclay said it was important to use the extra time to continue discussions on how to make the NHS a better place to work. .

The impact of the nurses’ strike in the UK will widen in the new year, with the number of NHS trusts involved increasing from 44 to 55.

The prime minister defended on Friday that the government was acting “fairly and rationally” on the “difficult issue” and said he could not risk fueling inflation.

But Karen said the nurses’ industrial action was due to the government’s intransigence.

“The government had the chance to end this controversy before Christmas, but instead chose to send the nursing staff out into the cold again in January,” she said.

“Staff shortages and low wages are putting patient care at risk,” argues Cullen. “The sooner ministers get to the negotiating table, the sooner this issue will be resolved. If they don’t dig, I won’t dig.”

Opposition Labor Party deputy leader Angela Rayner has accused the government of taking a “scorched earth” approach to negotiations.

“This regrettable excuse for the Prime Minister is that it’s time to get all the sides together around the table and start the real work to settle this issue and avoid confusion,” she said. .

The prime minister’s refusal to consider raising wages means the labor dispute is unlikely to end. The border officer is the last public sector official to leave.

Military personnel are checking passports at UK airports after about 1,000 Border Patrol staff left work on Friday at facilities such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester.

Postal deliveries, highway maintenance and driving tests have also been disrupted by the strike. Further travel difficulties loomed on Saturday, Christmas Eve, when most train services were expected to be cancelled.