NURSES are set to join a national strike tomorrow outside Whiston and St Helens Hospitals over pay.
The wave of industrial action which has swept across the country for months will continue this week and could escalate unless there is a breakthrough to bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) across England will walk out on Wednesday and Thursday and the union has warned that if progress is not made in negotiations by the end of January the next set of strikes will include all eligible members in England for the first time.
The Government continues to insist that pay claims are unaffordable and is sticking to its belief that wage rises should be decided by pay review bodies.
Health unions are refusing to submit any evidence to the NHS pay review body for the 2023/24 pay rise until the current dispute is resolved.
The walkouts will be the biggest so far, with more than a third of NHS trusts in England and all but one Welsh health board affected, confirmed the Royal College of Nursing.
It comes as nurses prepare to walk out on Wednesday and Thursday, following the two strike days before Christmas.
As required under trade union laws, emergency care will be covered.
The Royal College of Nursing states that "the value of salaries for experienced nurses today are 20 per cent lower in real terms due to successive below-inflation pay awards since 2010".
It adds that "low pay is pushing nursing staff out of the profession and contributing to record vacancies".
The union continues: "The new strike dates in February coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Robert Francis inquiry and his findings on the impact of nurse shortages on patient mortality."
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: "It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking this week and again in three weeks. Rather than negotiate, Rishi Sunak has chosen strike action again.
"We're doing this in a desperate bid to get him and ministers to rescue the NHS. The only credible solution is to address the tens of thousands of unfilled jobs - patient care is suffering like never before.
"My olive branch to government - asking them to meet me halfway and begin negotiations - is still there. They should grab it."
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