Nursing staff at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have announced new strikes for the coming months as the pay dispute between the government and nurses in the United Kingdom has gotten worse.
According to a local newspaper, the RCN members who went on two-day strikes on December 15 and 20 in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales will do the same on January 18 and 19.
The organisation asserts that its repeated invitations to worried ministers to hold discussions on NHS pay have been unsuccessful.
“The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January. I do not wish to prolong this dispute but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.
“The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS.
“The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in if they don’t dig in,” RCN general secretary Pat Cullen is quoted by MyLondon.
The news website also reported a nurse as having to ask her children to contribute to household bills as her salary doesn’t cover the cost.
“Pat Yiggon, a staff nurse, says patient safety is often compromised due to staff shortages, with colleagues leaving to work at Sainsbury’s,” the medium reported.