Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to go on strike after a meeting with health secretary Steve Barclay failed to produce any agreement. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the nurses’ trade union, has accused the government of “belligerence”.
The government has refused to negotiate on pay, though it says it is open to further discussion on other issues. RCN leader Pat Cullen said she was “extremely disappointed” at the stance the government had adopted and said wages were “fundamental” to the dispute.
Last month, RCN members voted to take strike action in the union’s biggest ever ballot. The union had indicated that it would be willing to reconsider its plans to strike if the government made another offer on pay, but the latter has not done so.
