UK nurses stage nationwide strike over cost of living, work conditions

Nurses in the United Kingdom are staging an unprecedented one-day strike as a "last resort" in their fight for better wages and working conditions.

UK nurses are staging the first strikes in their union's 106-year history after the government rejected their pay demands. © Niklas HALLE'N / AFP

Up to 100,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are stopping work from 8am to 8pm this Thursday, after rejecting a government pay offer.

The RCN's industrial action is part of a growing wave of stoppages by public and private sector employees.

Picket lines were being set up at major state-run hospitals, including Guy's and St Thomas's in London.

The strike is the first in the RCN union's 106-year history.

Nurses told the media they were "tired and fed up", calling for pay rises "to make a living".

‘We strike for the future of the NHS.’

The largest strike in RCN history starts today, as nursing staff in England, Northern Ireland and Wales demand fair pay and patient safety.#RCNStrike #FairPayForNursing https://t.co/26zcaU4Pqt

— The RCN (@theRCN) December 15, 2022

Cost of living and soaring inflation

The UK is currently grappling with a cost-of-living crisis as spiralling inflation outstrips wage growth.

Union leaders and health workers say nurses are being overworked due to staff shortages, as the state-run National Health Service (NHS) battles a backlog in appointments made worse by cancellations during the pandemic.

Chemotherapy, dialysis, intensive care and high-dependency units, as well as neonatal and paediatric intensive care, will be protected.

But other services will reportedly be reduced to Christmas staffing levels during the walk-out.

Healthcare unions say their members are skipping meals, struggling to feed and clothe their families, and leaving the NHS in droves.

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Pay review

The RCN wants a pay rise significantly above inflation, which surged to a 41-year high of 11.1 percent in October, falling slightly to 10.7 percent last month. 

The government maintains the demands are unaffordable and Health Secretary Steve Barclay called the strikes "deeply regrettable".

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen has offered to "press pause" on the strikes if Barclay agreed to talks.

But Barclay insisted that while he was open to talks on wider issues, the pay settlement was recommended by an independent review body and would not be reopened.

An NHS Pay Review Body recommended a pay rise of at least £1,400 (€1,600) on top of a 3 percent pay rise last year.

(with wires)