UK health unions propose to end NHS strike if government joins pay talks – The National | Daily News Byte

British health unions have offered to suspend a wave of strikes planned in health services over Christmas and the New Year if the government agrees to open serious talks over pay.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison said they would consider calling off the strike if Britain’s Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay agreed to hold serious talks.

“I will give pause when the Health Secretary says he will seriously negotiate our dispute this year,” RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said in a statement. “A quick change in strategy will pay off for all concerned.”

Britain’s state-run National Health Service (NHS) was bracing for an unprecedented wave of industrial action this winter, with up to 100,000 nurses going on strike on 15 and 20 December. Last month 10,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales also voted in favor of industrial action.

Inflation has soared in Britain this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to a crisis of living.

“Instead of scaring people about the consequences of strike action, the Health Secretary should set out real plans to improve wages,” Unison general secretary Christina McNee said in a statement.

The NHS, which has provided free healthcare at the point of use since 1948, is dealing with record levels of patients waiting for hospital treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a staffing crisis that has left thousands of vacancies.

When asked for comment, the government pointed to a pay award announced earlier this year, which was recommended by an independent review.

“Ministers have held constructive talks with unions including RCN and Unison,” a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said in a statement. “We have made it clear that the door is open to further negotiations.”

(Reporting by Kanjik Ghosh and Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Graf and David Gregorio)