Nurses hold out for a double-digit pay rise as cabinet minister brands decision 'curious and confusing'
14 May 2023, 08:56 | Updated: 15 May 2023, 02:00
Nurses will hold out for a double-digit pay rise as their biggest union prepares to ballot its members on a fresh round of strikes, as Cabinet Minister Grant Shapps brands the decision "curious" and "confusing".
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Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members will begin a new ballot for strike action on May 23 after the existing six-month mandate ran out at the start of the month.
And the general secretary, who described striking as one of the "hardest decisions", told The Sunday Times fresh negotiations were needed to prevent six more months of action.
"They [ministers] owe that to nursing staff not to push them to have to do another six months of industrial action right up to Christmas," she said ahead of Sunday's RCN congress in Brighton, telling Mr Barclay talks need to "start off in double figures".
"It's just not right for the profession," she said.
"It's not right for patients. But whose responsibility is it to resolve it? It is this government."
'There's no magic nurses tree' Nurse discusses possible further strike
Speaking Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mr Shapps said: "I find this a very curious story indeed because Pat Cullen just recently was encouraging her members to settle for the pay rise that was put on the table.
"I thought this was a great settlement.
"It's frankly rather confusing having encouraged her members to accept that deal, she seems to now be coming back and saying the opposite.
"You have got to balance that with the rest of the public purse."
Having pushed for a 19% pay rise, she had advised members to accept an offer of 5% - a deal they rejected despite being accepted by 14 other unions.
"It's not so long ago since the Prime Minister went on the media and very publicly said nurses are an exception," she said when asked why nurses warrant a larger increase than other healthcare workers.
"I would totally agree with him... they should be made an exception because they are exceptional people."
The mental health nurse, 58, from Co Tyrone, said patient safety was "at the centre of everything that we do".
"We will do nothing that will add further risk to the patients that we look after," she said, saying increased pay would see nurses return to the profession and ease a staffing crisis.
"The truth is that patient safety cannot be guaranteed on any day of the week. How could you guarantee patient safety when you have 47,000 nurses from your workforce every single day and night?"
She warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak not to take her members lightly.
"Looking back on this pay offer, I may personally have underestimated the members and their sheer determination," she said.
"I think what I would be saying to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is 'Don't - don't make that same mistake, don't underestimate them'.
"Nurses believe it's their duty and their responsibility because this government is not listening to them on how to bring it (the NHS) back from the brink and the message to the Prime Minister is that they are absolutely not going to blink first in these negotiations."
The government won a crucial victory at the High Court in April which prevented staff from continuing the most recent round of strikes walkouts a day longer.
Cancer nurses went on strike in April for the first time as part of a 28-hour walkout by frontline NHS staff that left hospital staff levels "exceptionally low".
