UK health unions are voting today on a UK government wage proposal. The nurses have been campaigning for six months, and yesterday was their biggest day on strike. Correspondent Lia van Bekhoven notes that the largest union does not want to accept a wage increase. “In general, the mood has just hardened and more bitter.”
In March, the British government proposed a 5% pay rise and a one-off payment. Most unions agreed, but the RCN nurses union and Unite union, among others, rejected the proposal. “The pressure on this union to reach an agreement is only increasing,” says Van Bekhoven.
Today the employers will once again meet the union. “Hopefully it will lead to something, but on the other hand union representatives have said they can continue until Christmas.” The RCN union had initially announced a 48-hour strike, but the court ended it. Strikes longer than 28 hours are no longer permitted.
Life or death
During the biggest strike day in six months, emergency room staff also went on strike for the first time, as did staff at cancer hospitals and cancer wards, says Van Bekhoven. “There were agreements with individual hospitals that strikers would continue to work in life-and-death matters, but that didn’t happen everywhere.”
“7.5 million people are now on the waiting list”
Due to the months of strikes in British hospitals, waiting lists have become significantly longer, says Van Bekhoven. ‘Delayed treatments have risen to half a million, more than 7.5 million people are now on the waiting list. That’s almost 12 per cent of the British population.’
The longer wait times also come at a time when wait times for trades were already long in the UK anyway. ‘In the past, you could wait three years for hip surgery, but you’re just going to stretch.’
Battered
The British government hopes today to end the wave of strikes: the unions will vote today on the wage proposal. According to Van Bekhoven, even if the strikes were to end, the British health system would suffer. “Eventually this will all end, but the NHS is not what it used to be. How he recovers is the question.’
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
