Twice the number of NHS England nurses will be asked to strike next month to put increased pressure on the Government, union leaders have warned. The Royal College of Nursing has said that failure to make progress in negotiations by the end of January will mean the next set of strikes will for the first time include all eligible members in England.
Nurses in Wales are also expected to strike in February following a month without industrial action. The RCN is not planning strikes in Northern Ireland, where there is no executive in place, or in Scotland, where action remains paused as negotiations continue.
The warning follows action taken by ministers to push for new laws forcing unions to provide minimum levels of service on strike days – legislation expected to take around six months to get through Parliament.
