Contingency plans are in place should nurses and other NHS staff go on strike, the Welsh Government has confirmed. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is expected to announce later this week that its members have voted to walk out over pay.
Health workers in other unions, including ambulance staff, hospital porters and cleaners, are also voting on industrial action. Unison and the GMB are set to announce ballot results later this month, while physiotherapists and midwives will start voting soon.
NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts were told earlier this year that they would receive a £1,400 pay rise - a decision described as "pitiful and insulting". Helen Whyley, director of RCN Wales, sent a letter to Welsh Government Health Minister Eluned Morgan explaining that she is "ready and waiting" to open discussions on an improved pay offer.
