A cabinet minister has said the government is 'resolute' on nurses' pay after unions threatened to continue strike action.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, claimed that the government was being reasonable with its approach to the unions and that it would stand firm on its pay stance. In an interview during BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, he acknowledged that while "things are challenging" the government must be 'sensible' with finances.
It comes after members of the Royal College of nursing (RCN), already due to stage a strike on December 20, said it will escalate strike actions if ministers do not engage in talks within 48 hours. However, Mr Dowden said that nurses' pay should be overseen by the NHS pay review body.
Read more: Armed robber points 'gun' at Post Office staff before looting cash and stamps
He told Ms Kuenssberg: " I think the Government is being reasonable, we’re being sensible, and would urge the unions to be reasonable as well. I have to say we will be resolute in response to this, because it would be irresponsible to allow public sector pay and inflation to get out of control, and we owe a wider duty to the public to make sure we keep our public finances under control and we build a growing economy that can pay for these things.”
He also insisted that the government is "always willing to talk" with the unions, stressing that "our door is always open to engagement with the unions". He added: "I would say to people across the private and the public sector… we’re trying to be reasonable, we’re trying to be proportionate and we’re trying to be fair.
“But in return, the unions need to be fair and reasonable. They should call off these strikes and give people a break.”
He added: “We’re always willing to talk.” He also claimed that the nurses' demands for a 19 per cent wage rise are "simply not affordable", stating that this increase "across the board" would set families back £1,000 each.
What do you think? Have your say in our comments below.
He added: "If we go for the kind of 19% that is being urged on us by the nursing unions, that is simply not affordable… if we applied this across the board, that would cost families £1,000 each and it would also add to inflation and make us all poorer in the long run."
When challenged on that figure, Mr Dowden said the government could actually be "underestimating" the cost. “What I can tell you is our number is justified on the basis of taking the inflation number, which is what the unions are asking for and projecting it forward to next year,” he said.
He denied the figure was inaccurate, saying: “I spent a lot of yesterday and the day before discussing exactly these numbers. These are robust numbers.”
Read next:
-
'I got the racist who attacked me with an umbrella convicted - but the sentence left me heartbroken'
-
'We bought a 1950s time warp on a whim - people doubted it but now it's our forever home'
-
Car flips on its roof in horror motorway crash as police shut major road
-
LIVE Manchester weather and traffic updates as 'amber - danger to life' ice warning comes into force
