Britain: Nurses strike for the first time in 100 years – About 100,000 on the streets

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Nurses will strike on December 15 and 20 after the government refused to meet demands for pay rises of 5% above inflation

Tens of thousands of nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will take part in unprecedented strike mobilizations with wage demands in December, as their union announced today.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had already announced that nurses would strike on December 15 and 20, in the first industrial action in its 100-year history, after the government refused to meet demands for 5% above-inflation pay rises.

The RCN — whose 465,000 members include nurses, midwives and nursing students — said today that strike action will affect NHS facilities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The local government in Scotland has already started dialogue with the union so no strikes have been called there.

“Ministers have rejected my offer of formal wage negotiations,” RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said. “They left us no choice but to announce in which areas our members will strike in December,” he added.

According to Reuters, around 7 million patients in Britain are on waiting lists for hospital care.

The strike action by nurses is expected to increase pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Britain teeters on the brink of recession, with inflation at a 41-year high (11.1% in October) and the cost of living becoming unaffordable for many households.

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