Nurses to strike for two days before Christmas
Nurses will strike in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for two days next month – its set to be the biggest NHS walkout in history.
The RCN announced strikes on 15 and 20 December in its ongoing dispute with the government over pay.
Nurses will still provide emergency care, but routine services will be hit.
The RCN said it has no alternative as the government will not reopen talks, but the government said the 19% pay rise demanded was unaffordable.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Ministers have chosen strike action.
“Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve.”
The strikes will last from 08:00 to 20:00 GMT. They will likely increase the backlog in non-urgent hospital treatment – there are already a record 7 million on the waiting list.
