Paramedics will strike this Wednesday and nurses will walk out next week after an NHS pay summit ended with no breakthrough. Ambulance workers will walk out in trusts across England this Wednesday and on January 23, and nurses are expected to follow on January 18-19.
Unions today met Health Secretary Steve Barclay to hold their first talks about pay for 2023/24. At the same time, Rishi Sunak raised hopes that nurses could be offered a one-off payment this winter - to end strikes over their 2022/23 pay deal, reports The Mirror.
Unite union negotiator Onay Kasab said it is unclear whether discussion of a payment for this financial year is on the table.
Asked outside the Department of Health and Social Care whether an agreement in relation to the 2022 dispute had been mentioned in his meeting with Health Secretary Steve Barclay, he said: “Well, you tell me – exactly. Unfortunately, I don’t think today made that any clearer, there were mixed messages today, but today did not make that any clearer.
“But I emphasise the thing to get out of today that is absolutely clear is that they want our members to give more in order for it to consider a payment. That is absolutely outrageous.”
He said there had been no “detailed” discussion of what a pay settlement might look like, adding that the talks had left him “very angry”.
Mr Kasab added: “The Government have missed yet another opportunity… We came here in good faith.”
The strikes will “absolutely” go ahead as a result, he said.
Downing Street said it will always encourage trade unions to call off planned strikes, amid fresh discussions between trade unions and ministers.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman was asked if the Government expects strikes to be called off, amid the latest talks.
He said: “We would always encourage the unions to call off strike action. We think having these sorts of discussions is the right way to resolve these sorts of issues.”
Asked if the Prime Minister is more optimistic that strikes could be called off, he said: “I think that it is for the unions to say what their intentions are. Certainly we welcome the fact that they are engaging with these discussions.”
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, held his arms out in a wide shrugging gesture as he left the Department for Transport building in central London, indicating that talks with ministers had not gone well.
When asked by PA whether any progress had been made in the ongoing pay dispute, Mr Whelan said: “I’ve got nothing to say.”
Pressed again about how negotiations had gone by Sky reporters, he added: “I’m not going to make any comment today.”
