London – Following postal workers and railway workers, nurses have also gone on strike in Britain demanding a pay rise. For the first time in its 106-year history, the Royal College of Nursing has appealed to its more than three lakh members to go on strike. Dates for the strike will be set next week after the results of a vote among union members on whether a strike is necessary. 50,000 of the RCN members are nurses.
If the union goes ahead with the strike, it will affect all health services in the NHS except emergency care. The government has warned the union that they should go on strike considering the suffering caused to the patients.
The Royal College of Nursing has demanded a salary increase of at least five per cent in the face of rising prices after 12 per cent. But local governments in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are not ready to provide this.
In England, the salary of entry-level nurses ranges from £25,000-27,000. For senior nurses this goes up to a maximum of £55,000. The average annual salary of a nurse in England is £32,000. The union points out that this is completely inadequate in the current situation.
Midwives in Scotland are also preparing for strike. Here the Royal College of Midwives has voted in favor of the strike. Along with nurses, junior doctors are also preparing for the strike. Their organization, the British Medical Association, has also prepared a ballot for the strike.
The Royal Mail employees, who are on strike demanding a pay rise, have given notice to the management for a 19-day strike as the second phase of the strike. The Communications Workers Union has given notice to the Royal Mail to strike for 19 days, including busy days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. A two-day strike last week has disrupted the postal service sector in Britain.
This week various rail unions in Britain are also on strike
English Summary : Nurses urged to strike for first time over pay