Thousands of UK health workers to stage new round of strikes in May

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) - Unite, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, has announced further National Health Service (NHS) strikes, saying its members are unhappy with the latest pay offer made by the government.

Staff at a number of regional ambulance and hospital bodies will stage a strike on May 2, Unite said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The union has received strong indications that many members are unhappy with the deal and is therefore preparing further industrial action.

This follows the announcement on Tuesday that members at Guy’s and St. Thomas and Yorkshire Ambulance Service will strike on May 1.

“Unite has been upfront and honest that it did not believe that the pay offer was good enough for NHS workers. A lump sum payment and yet another real terms pay cut doesn’t meet the challenges faced by NHS workers," said the Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham.

“Where our members have indicated that they want to swiftly return to the picket line, Unite is ensuring they are able to do so.”

Unlike other health unions Unite did not recommend its members to accept the government’s pay offer of a non-consolidated cash lump sum payment for 2022/23 and a 5% increase for 2023/24, with the current real inflation rate standing at 13.5%, “this is a substantial real terms pay cut for NHS workers.”

Unite national lead officer for the NHS dispute Onay Kasab said: “Unite had clear reservations about the government’s offer from the very outset. What is now clear is that our members hold similar views.”

Rejecting a pay offer from the government, nurses in England also recently announced they will go on a 48-hour strike from April 30 to May 2.

"What has been offered to date is simply not enough. The government needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it," said Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing in a letter to the country's health secretary, Steve Barclay.

Members of the Unison public service union, on the other hand, have accepted the pay offer, which includes a 5% pay increase for 2023-24 and a lump sum payment.

The RCN is asking for a pay rise of 19%, which is around 5% higher than the current retail price inflation.