Is this a first step towards victory for British caregivers? After historic strike days in the United Kingdom, which have been linked since December, nurses announced on Tuesday that they were suspending their walkout movement, and in particular their 48-hour mobilization scheduled for next week. The government has indeed agreed to negotiate with the unions, which are demanding higher wages and better working conditions.
In a joint press release, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN, main union) and the British Ministry of Health announced “to have agreed to enter into a process of intensive discussions”. According to the text, these negotiations will concern “wages, conditions and reforms to increase productivity”. Health Minister Steve Barclay is due to meet with union officials on Wednesday, it is specified. In the meantime, the union “will suspend the strikes”.
Salary increases at the heart of the negotiations
The announcement comes as the mobilization of nurses seemed to harden, with a strike scheduled from March 1 for 48 hours without interruption. This mobilization, unprecedented in its length, was also to concern for the first time the emergency services, intensive care, oncology and other departments which have not disengaged until then.
Nurses are demanding salary increases for the current year (2022-2023), but the government has so far only been ready to negotiate for the coming year, calling the demands of the nurse “unaffordable”. occupation.
In early February, nurses and paramedics decided to strike together, the largest mobilization in the history of the British health system. In addition to nurses, paramedics, railway workers and certain public officials have stopped work several times in recent months to demand wage increases due to record inflation in the United Kingdom. It was still above 10% in January.