NHS crisis: Nurses to walk out again next month as ambulance workers join forces and coordinate strike

23 December 2022, 10:57 | Updated: 23 December 2022, 12:22

Thousands of nurses will go on strike again on January 18 and 19, with further dates to be confirmed next year, their union has said - with the prospect of coordinated action on the table too.

It comes after nurses first went on strike on December 15 and December 20 in a dispute over pay, with many people's operations and appointments delayed.

The Royal College of Nursing said that the next phase of strikes will take place in England only, but that more walkouts would be announced in the new year.

RCN boss 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."

A union representing some ambulance workers also said on Friday that its members would no longer strike on December 28, to give the public some respite over the Christmas period, having walked out on Wednesday.

But GMB also said that its members' pay dispute with the government had not gone away, and that it would join ambulance workers represented by Unison in striking on January 11. Unison members in the ambulance service will also down tools on January 23.

Unite, which also represents some ambulance workers, took part in the December 21 strike, but has not announced further strike dates.

A spokesman for GMB said: "The NHS is on its knees and the public are suffering every day because the Government has failed to properly resource and plan for our health service.

"Nowhere is this clearer than in the appalling delays experienced in getting an ambulance and then getting into A&E.

"Solving such problems starts with getting enough people to work in the NHS.

"Unless the Government starts to talk pay now, the problems will get worse with every passing day."

Rishi Sunak said he is "sad" and "disappointed" about widespread strike action, but he insisted refusing to negotiate on public sector pay is the "right thing" in the long term.

The Prime Minister said the government was acting "fairly and reasonably" on the "difficult question", but insisted he cannot budge or risk stoking inflation.

But it comes after reports that Health Secretary Steve Barclay could be poised to offer NHS staff an expedited pay rise, with the minister pushing to "speed up the process".

NHS workers are normally given a backdated wage boost in August, even though the independent body that sets their pay makes a decision in April.

The Telegraph reported that Mr Barclay "is very keen for this to go ahead at pace and not be dragged out as it has been in the past," citing a source close to the Health Secretary.

The actual pay rise that NHS workers would get remains unclear. Unions have said that they are expecting their members to be offered a 2% increase, well below the demands that striking workers have made amid rampant inflation.

Meanwhile Brits were also warned about possible travel chaos on roads, railways and in airports, with workers in all three industries also on strike over the Christmas period.

A Border Force walkout at Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester airports, and the port of Newhaven in East Sussex, was expected to cause disruption for air passengers - with a remote possibility that airports could even close.

This comes during the busiest Christmas for airports since 2019, as the first festive period without Covid-19 travel restrictions for three years.Some 10,000 flights are expected to land in the UK during that period, with about 2 million seats.

Soldiers have been drafted in to replace the Border Force staff and have received some training, but bosses admitted they would not be as efficient.

And there are fears that troops will not be as good at spotting victims of human trafficking, meaning more people could be smuggled into modern slavery in the UK during the period, the Guardian reported, citing a Home Office source.

But Brits wanting to travel home by car or by train could also be frustrated, with strike action by railway workers and National Highways staff over the festive period.

Staff at the government agency, who manage and maintain the country's biggest roads, walked out on Thursday and are not expected to return until Boxing Day.

With the AA expecting more than 20 million trips in the run up to Christmas because of the mass disruption caused by rail strikes, drivers can look forward to long queues as they try to make their way home to their families.

And with the railway strikes running from Christmas Eve until December 27, train services are likely to end by Saturday morning at the latest,