Nurses are set to strike again on January 18 and 19 unless pay talks are opened, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.
During this month nurses walked out on December 15 and 20, and this further action will follow through on the RCN's promise to intensify its campaign of strikes if ministers continued to refuse to negotiate over pay.
The Guardian reports that nurses will refuse to work at 55 different NHS trusts on the January dates, which is up from 44 trusts from the December dates.
RCN members will not be striking in Wales and Northern Ireland again in January, whilst Scotland members are waiting for a ballot outcome before announcing any dates.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, said: “The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January. I do not wish to prolong this dispute but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.
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“The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS.
“The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in.”
The RCN had been hoping for a pay rise 5% above inflation but has stated that they will lower this demand if Health Secretary Stebe Barclay opens talks with them.
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