NHS staff to strike in the new year

NHS workers, including nurses and porters, are set to go on strike for a third time in the new year.   

UNISON members in England will walkout for 12 hours on Thursday 29th January and will then work to rule between Friday 30th to Tuesday 24th February.

This means they will be working their contracted hours and will take their breaks but will not do unpaid overtime. This will be followed by a 24-hour strike on Wednesday 25th February.

In October and November, members of UNSION and 11 other trade unions took two four-hour stoppages. This third round of actions is once again in protest of the government’s decision to reject the 1% pay rise for NHS staff as recommended by the independent Pay Review Body – and the fact most will be denied a pay increase in 2015/16.

Christina McAnea, UNISON Head of Health, said: “We have decided not to take strike action over the Christmas period as services are already at breaking point at this time. Our members are demonstrating their concern for patient safety. I only wish the employers and Government would do the same.

“Instead they are being completely irresponsible by refusing to have meaningful negotiations on how we resolve this dispute. And they are putting patients’ lives at risk.

“Our members’ pay has been frozen or held down for the past five years and there is no end in sight. On average, they have lost around 10% in the value of their pay over the life of this parliament.  

“We now have no option but to escalate and plan for longer strikes.  The anger among health workers has reached levels where they are now ready to walk out for 24 hours. NHS staff have been singled out by this coalition government for the worst treatment across the public sector.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Health responded to the news: “NHS staff are our greatest asset and we want to make the current pay system fairer - which is why we have put forward proposals that would guarantee all staff would get at least a 1% pay rise this year and next, but these have been rejected by the unions.

“We have taken tough decisions to increase the NHS budget, but we can't afford a consolidated pay rise in addition to increments without risking 10,000 frontline jobs.”