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Ministers have declined an offer from nursing union bosses to postpone a strike due to cripple the NHS next week in exchange for face-to-face talks over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing had offered to ‘press pause’ on a walkout in exchange for discussions with health Secretary Steve Barclay, amid fears that the action by thousands of medics will exacerbate the health service’s problems.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, whose members are due to take part in unprecedented strike action on December 15 and December 20, told the Observer she was willing to ease pressure on medical services ahead of the festive period.
But Mr Barclay has refused to personally get involved in negotiations over demands for a 19 per cent pay increase for nurses.
And this morning James Cleverly refused to go any further than his cabinet colleague, saying unions had to agree pay with the independent review body.
The Foreign Secretary told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘Of course we want to engage, of course we want to get this resolved.
‘Steve will speak, he said he will speak, but ultimately there is a system and we have to respect that.’
Ahead of the planned strikes, he said that the ‘Government has plans in place to try to minimise any disruption’.
It came as Sir Stephen Powis, medical director of NHS England, said that industrial action could hit attempts by the NHS to reduce waiting lists ahead of an expected fifth wave of Covid this winter.
The Foreign Secretary told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘Of course we want to engage, of course we want to get this resolved. ‘Steve will speak, he said he will speak, but ultimately there is a system and we have to respect that.’
It came as Sir Stephen Powis, medical director of NHS England, said that industrial action could hit attempts by the NHS to reduce waiting lists ahead of an expected fifth wave of Covid this winter.
Labour frontbencher Streeting accuses GPs’ union of treating him like a ‘heretic’ over reform demand
Labour’s shadow health secretary said he has been ‘treated like a heretic’ by the main doctors’ union over his ideas for improving patient access.
In a deepening row with the the British Medical Association (BMA) Wes Streeting said the organisation was ‘driving him up the wall’ over its opposition to changes they would help patients.
He used an interview with the Sunday Telegraph to accuse it of ‘living on a different planet’ with demands, saying they ‘aren’t really thinking about the best interests of patients’.
It came after English GP representatives last month voted to cut GP core opening hours to 9am to 5pm.
He told Sky News today: ‘Despite the fact that I announced the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history, because I had the temerity to say that we also should expect better service for patients for exchange in that investment – because I think it’s unacceptable that people have to wait on the phone at eight o’clock in the morning to get through to a GP – I have been treated like some kind of heretic by the BMA.’
Dr Emma Runswick, deputy chairwoman of the BMA council, blasted Mr Streeting’s ‘rhetoric’.
She told Sky News BMA members and NHS staff across the country are ‘gobsmacked by that because we are giving everything and receiving less than nothing in return’.
‘We agree that we want a better health service. We’re working in it, I see patients every week that have been waiting a long time to see us. It’s really devastating to be working in that situation where we know that we aren’t providing that standard of care that we want to be.
‘The solution is not to attack the staff, the solution is to attack the Government who are absolutely responsible for driving our service into the ground,’ she said.
He told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that waiting lists had been reduced to below two years in the summer with the aim of that dropping to 18 months by the spring.
He said: ‘That, of course, could be knocked off course, industrial action is one thing, but there could be a significant wave of Covid, a new variant perhaps, there could be a high peak of flu, there is trouble brewing this winter, we will see how we get on.’
Sir Stephen said the service is under ‘huge pressure’ this winter and needs more staff, with 100,000 vacancies in England.
There is also a need for up to 2,000 extra medical school places, preferably based in areas of the country with greatest shortages, he said.
He said: ‘We need to retain staff, we can recruit internationally, but ultimately we need to train more staff in this country.’
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), has said it was ‘despicable’ that UK nurses were the ‘lowest paid in Europe’.
She told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: ‘The one day of action that nurses are going to take hasn’t created the 7.2 million people in our waiting lists, the NHS has been in crisis for many, many years, and what state would it be in if those nurses were not working those additional unpaid hours they do?
‘Nurses aren’t greedy people. They are not asking for an incredible pay rise, they are asking just to be able to make ends meet.’
Labour’s Wes Streeting has accused the Government of ‘spoiling for a fight’ over NHS strikes this winter.
The shadow health secretary told Sky News that the Government need to ‘grow up and get around the table’ after the Royal College of Nursing and Unison said they will suspend strikes if ministers are prepared to meet and talk about pay.
‘I think that is an offer that’s too good to refuse and I want the Government to explain why they aren’t prepared to even sit down and talk even though they know patients will experience real disruption as a result of strike action.’
‘The Government’s line is a complete joke on that, there hasn’t been a single minute of negotiation,’ he said.
‘It is completely unreasonable for the Government not to want to negotiate and I think they’re spoiling with a fight.
‘I think they don’t have a plan for the NHS this winter, they’re quite happy to see paramedics and nurses go on strike because when the proverbial hits the fan this winter, they are going to blame paramedics and nurses for an NHS crisis that is squarely the fault of a Conservative government and 12 years of mismanagement.’
The RCN has accused Mr Barclay of refusing to properly negotiate on pay, with the trade union on Friday accusing the Health Secretary of deploying ‘bullyboy’ tactics against a largely female workforce.
Mr Barclay earlier slammed nursing unions for planned strikes next week.
The Department of Health on Saturday night said that the Health Secretary’s ‘door remains open for further talks’, but did not say whether pay would now be on the table.
Mr Barclay hit back at the RCN, saying: ‘In a winter when we’re worrying about Covid, flu and Strep A – on top of the Covid backlogs – I am deeply concerned about the risks of strike action to patients.’
The RCN has accused Mr Barclay of refusing to properly negotiate on pay
The RCN has accused Mr Barclay (pictured) of refusing to properly negotiate on pay, with the trade union on Friday accusing the Health Secretary of deploying ‘bullyboy’ tactics against a largely female workforce
Head of the Royal College of Nursing, Pat Cullen, said the Health Secretary had turned down her negotiation offers five times
‘We are working hard to make sure patients experience as little disruption as possible. But with the NHS already under pressure due to the Covid pandemic and coming winter, the risks to patients will be significant,’ he wrote in the Sun on Sunday.
The RCN this week accused Mr Barclay of refusing to properly negotiate on pay, with Ms Cullen suggesting the Health Secretary has deployed ‘bullyboy’ tactics against a largely female workforce.
‘Negotiate with nurses and avoid this strike,’ Ms Cullen said.
‘Five times my offer to negotiate has been turned down.
‘I will press pause on it when the Health Secretary says he will negotiate seriously on our dispute this year.
‘That means each of us giving some ground. He gains nothing by ignoring the representatives of the NHS workforce.
Nearly 100,000 nurses are set to walk out of 76 hospitals and NHS facilities this week, forcing officials to postpone 15,000 operations. Pictured: nurses protesting in London in 2017
‘The public blames Government for this dire situation, and they have to face up to it. A swift change of tactics will pay off for all concerned.’
Up to 100,000 nurses are due to take industrial action on two days in the run-up to Christmas, with the RCN warning that it would only commit to providing ‘life-preserving care’ on these days.
Services which do not meet this criteria include hospital discharges, radiotherapy and maternity services. The default position will be that nurses will walk out of A&Es unless trust bosses persuade them they cannot deliver a safe service without them.
This means that 15,000 non-urgent surgeries are set to be cancelled if the strike goes ahead.
The union is demanding the Government offer nurses a pay rise of 17.6 per cent, which has been dismissed as ‘unaffordable’ by the Prime Minister.
Unison has indicated that it would consider deals similar to those that led to the suspension of strikes in Scotland, if the Health Secretary sat down and discussed pay.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘Rather than scare the public about the consequences of strikes, the Health Secretary should table genuine plans for improving wages.
‘Sitting down with health unions and improving the pay on offer has put strikes on hold across Scotland.
‘If Steve Barclay were to mirror Holyrood’s approach and commit to boosting wages this year, the threat of pre-Christmas strikes could well be lifted.’
The strike will cause major disruption to the NHS in the run-up to Christmas, with ambulance workers also set to strike on December 21.
The RCN has said that despite this year’s pay award of £1,400, experienced nurses are worse off by 20 per cent in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.
The union has been calling for a pay rise of 5 per cent above RPI inflation.
The Health Secretary has repeatedly insisted that the concerns raised by trade unions are not simply about pay and said that the Government was moving to improve conditions for workers in other areas.
He has said several times that his ‘door remains open’ for talks with the unions, but nurses’ representatives have complained that he is not engaging in pay talks.
In response to the latest offer from the unions, a Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘NHS workers do an incredible job caring for our loved ones and it is disappointing some will be taking industrial action, ahead of a difficult winter.
‘Ministers have had constructive talks with unions, including the RCN and Unison, on how we can make the NHS a better place to work – and have been clear the door remains open for further talks.
‘These are extremely challenging times, we have accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in full – this means newly qualified nurses have had a 5.5% increase and those on the lowest salaries, such as porters and cleaners, have received a pay rise of up to 9.3%.’
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting called it ‘an offer the Government can’t refuse’.
He tweeted that the two trade unions had ‘been clear that there is a deal to be done, but the Government must be prepared to negotiate’.
‘It’s time they put patients before Tory politics,’ he added.
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, has warned that some operations and scans will be cancelled if strike action does go ahead.
It comes as waiting lists are at a record high of 7.1million and as patients face life-threatening delays for an ambulance.
The three unions representing ambulance staff – Unite, Unison and GMB – have also voted in favour of industrial action.
It is understood they could coordinate strikes on December 20 for maximum impact.
Meanwhile, Network Rail has warned passengers that services will be limited, overcrowded or cancelled until at least January 8 as RMT union members strike for 11 days over the holiday season.
Network Rail has warned passengers that services will be limited, overcrowded or cancelled until at least January 8 as RMT union members strike for 11 days over the holiday season
Conservative MPs have warned the strikes will make Christmas ‘miserable at best and dangerous at worst’, with much of the country grinding to a halt.
Industrial action at Royal Mail that has already played havoc with the Christmas post will continue tomorrow and on Wednesday and Thursday.
Postal service bosses warned customers that they had just two days to post gifts second class in time for Christmas Day. And some Christmas cards will reportedly not be delivered until February, it was claimed.
A source said: ‘The back-up of the post is really bad. Royal Mail is focusing on parcels and there is not a lot of room in the model for letters.’
Dave Ward, of the Communication Workers Union, said that his members had ‘kept the country going’ during the pandemic and warned that turning Royal Mail into a parcel courier would destroy it.
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