Chief of nurses’ union says she would meet government ‘halfway’ on pay as rail strikes continue – live

RCN leader Pat McCullen suggests nurses would settle for roughly half the 19% rise demanded

Good morning. Yesterday the government launched two initiatives to address the problem of striking Britain: on the “stick” side, it announcing plans for a far-reaching anti-strike law (although not as far reaching as it might have been if Jacob Rees-Mogg was still in charge, as Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey point out in their story), and on the “carrot” side they offered talks on next year’s pay settlement. The stick is a lot bigger and more sturdy than the carrot, but the carrot came as a surprise, and it suggests that minister are worried about the danger of being seen as unreasonable.

The unions are also keen to retain public support, and in an interview with Times’s Past Imperfect podcast Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said explicitly that she would meeet the government “halfway” on the RCN’s pay demand.

There is a rhetoric out there that says the Royal College of Nursing is unrealistic, it’s looking for something that’s totally unachievable, it’s looking for 19%.

Now I could sit here all day and tell you nurses’ pay has dropped by 20% over the last decade. Do I believe those nurses are entitled [to 19%]? Absolutely, I believe they’re entitled to 19%. But we also understand the economic climate that we’re working in.

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​RCN leader Pat McCullen suggests nurses would settle for roughly half the 19% rise demanded Good morning. Yesterday the government launched two initiatives to address the problem of striking Britain: on the “stick” side, it announcing plans for a far-reaching anti-strike law (although not as far reaching as it might have been if Jacob Rees-Mogg was still in charge, as Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey point out in their story), and on the “carrot” side they offered talks on next year’s pay settlement. The stick is a lot bigger and more sturdy than the carrot, but the carrot came as a surprise, and it suggests that minister are worried about the danger of being seen as unreasonable.The unions are also keen to retain public support, and in an interview with Times’s Past Imperfect podcast Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said explicitly that she would meeet the government “halfway” on the RCN’s pay demand.There is a rhetoric out there that says the Royal College of Nursing is unrealistic, it’s looking for something that’s totally unachievable, it’s looking for 19%.Now I could sit here all day and tell you nurses’ pay has dropped by 20% over the last decade. Do I believe those nurses are entitled [to 19%]? Absolutely, I believe they’re entitled to 19%. But we also understand the economic climate that we’re working in. Continue reading…