Pat Cullen, general secretary of the UK’s Royal College of Nursing, on Monday accused the government of «choosing to punish» nurses across the country during a new day of strike action to demand improved working conditions and a pay rise in the midst of the economic crisis.
The actions called by the unions include a simultaneous strike by nurses from the National Health Service and the ambulance service, marking the first time these two public services have been suspended at the same time.
That is why the organization has pointed out that this is the biggest strike ever recorded in the history of the country, according to information reported by the newspaper ‘The Guardian’. «We are in a situation where the government has chosen punishment instead of sitting down at the negotiating table to talk about wages,» said Cullen.
Thus, he has pointed out that thousands of nurses are protesting and have assured that «they will not give up until the Government stands up and listens to their voices». The Royal College of Nursing has explained that it has called twice as many members as in the December and January strikes.
Cullen also explained that he has written to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to «resolve this impasse as soon as possible» and reaffirmed that «there is no point in promising more funds to the National Health Service if there is no appropriate level of pay».
For his part, the Labor leader, Keir Starmer, has asserted that this type of actions «are an embarrassment to the Government» and has affirmed that the Executive continues to «pay no attention and show no leadership as the cost of living continues to rise and the situation worsens».
«Nobody wants to see these strikes, nobody wants to be on strike. The last thing nurses want is to do this. What they want is for the government to show some leadership, to sit down and negotiate and find a solution,» he has argued.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
