British nurses begin first ever strike as pay dispute deepens in ‘tragic day’ for NHS
- An estimated 100,000 nurses at 76 hospitals and health centres take part in the strike as 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries are cancelled
- Nurses want a 19 per cent pay rise, arguing they have suffered a decade of real-terms cuts, and that staff shortages mean unsafe care for patients
National Health Service nurses in Britain staged a strike on Thursday, their first ever national walkout, as a bitter dispute with the government over pay ramps up pressure on already-stretched hospitals at one of the busiest times of year.
An estimated 100,000 nurses at 76 hospitals and health centres will take part in the strike, leading to the cancellation of about 70,000 appointments, procedures and surgeries in Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
Britain is facing a wave of industrial action this winter, with strikes crippling the rail network and postal service, and airports bracing for disruption over Christmas.
Inflation running at more than 10 per cent, trailed by pay offers of around 4 per cent, is stoking tensions between unions and employers.
Of all the strikes though, it will be the sight of nurses on picket lines that will be the stand-out image for many Britons this winter.
“What a tragic day. This is a tragic day for nursing, it is a tragic day for patients, patients in hospitals like this, and it is a tragic day for people of this society and for our NHS,” Pat Cullen, the head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union, said to the BBC on a picket line on Thursday.
