LONDON – Thousands of nurses walked off the job in England on Thursday, escalating a wave of industrial unrest across Britain this month as ambulance and postal workers, bus drivers and airport baggage handlers all go on strike to demand better pay amid the high cost of living crisis.
Emergency care at the hospital will continue as usual and nurses will continue to oversee chemotherapy and intensive care units for newborns and children, the Royal College of Nursing said. However, it was expected that many less urgent hospital treatments across England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be affected.
Although nurses had no plans to go on strike in Scotland, Thursday’s action was described by nurses as the largest since Britain’s National Health Service was founded in 1948.
The Royal College of Nursing has asked for a pay increase of 5% above inflation, although it has indicated it would accept a lower offer. The government said the demand was prohibitively expensive and talks between the two sides collapsed on Monday.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday his government had “consistently spoken to all unions involved in all wage disputes”.
Train services across the country were also badly affected this week as members of the railway, shipping and transport unions staged a strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. They also plan to stay away from work on Friday and Saturday.
The strike shut down about half of Britain’s railway lines. Some parts of the country, including most of Scotland and Wales, will have no train service.
Postal workers from the Communication Workers Union also staged a new 48-hour nationwide strike this week and have more strike days planned in the run-up to Christmas.
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