RCN nurses’ strike – ‘The Tories have spat in our faces’
BREAKING NEWS: RCN has announced its planned 48-hour strike in England from 1-3 March has been suspended for talks. Below is Charlie’s article, written ahead of the announcement.
Charlie Kennedy, Nurse and RCN member
Why are nurses striking? 40,000 nursing vacancies. A 20% drop in nursing applications from 2022 to 2023. Growing waiting times in A&E. A crippling cost-of-living crisis.
These are just some of the many barriers that the NHS has faced in recent years. Despite this, there has been very little action to address the core issue at the heart of this crisis.
Nursing pay has been fallen by 20% in real terms since 2010. So we took action, as nurses, to fight for improved pay, better staffing and better care for our patients.
But the Tories have failed to come to the table. They have spat in the faces of nurses, and every service user and worker in the NHS.
This has left nurses, like myself, infuriated and angry at the government in Westminster for refusing to acknowledge the work that we do.
Healthcare services are being broken apart, and are becoming busier and busier. Many members now say that they don’t feel they can even provide safe care, let alone high-quality care.
This has left us with no choice, but for the RCN to announce a 48-hour strike – 1-3 March. We don’t want to impede patient care. But if we continue to be ignored, the Tory government will leave us with nothing.
The time is now for workers to unite against this new wave of austerity and fight the suppression of the working class. We must stand up and show the power that we have together.
Striking health workers joining teachers and civil servants on strike on 15 March would be a great step forward. We cannot stand down until we have the outcome that secures the future for the NHS and all workers.
98% of junior doctors vote to strike!
45,000 junior doctors in the British Medical Association (BMA) will strike for 72 hours in mid-March – the longest strike so far in the NHS. In a massive turnout of 77.5%, 98% voted ‘yes’!
The vote to strike follows 15 years of effective pay cuts. The BMA says it has been impossible to reach an agreement with the Tory government as they refuse to meet.
