An offer by nursing trade unions to “press pause” on planned strikes before Christmas is set to go unheeded by the Government, senior Cabinet ministers have signalled. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has offered to suspend the proposed action if Health Secretary Steve Barclay agrees to negotiate properly on pay.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Sunday robustly defended the independent review process that the Government has insisted should determine pay increases, as he appeared to rule out Mr Barclay entering talks on nurses’ salaries.
“He has said he is willing to meet them,” the Cabinet minister told Sky News. “Meetings are different from pay negotiation. Ultimately, independent bodies are there for a reason – it is to take the politics out of this sort of stuff.”
