At last, a change in tone — and substance. Plans for a 48-hour walkout by nurses next week have been put on hold as the Royal College of Nursing enters “intensive talks” with the Government on pay, terms and conditions and “productivity enhancing reforms”.
The strike was set to be the biggest of this winter’s pay dispute, with half of frontline services affected. To call it off, ministers needed to do more than hold the line. Critically, the Government now appears open to making a reasonable offer on pay for this financial year, as well as next.
