The UK is seeking to curtail a two-day strike by nurses planned for the end of the month by taking court action to declare it unlawful.
(Bloomberg) — The UK is seeking to curtail a two-day strike by nurses planned for the end of the month by taking court action to declare it unlawful.
Nurses earlier this month rejected a new government pay offer and said they’d strike for 48 hours from 8 p.m. on April 30. But the government believes the Royal College of Nursing’s six-month mandate for industrial action expires at midnight on May 1.
“Following a request from NHS Employers I am regretfully applying to the High Court to declare the Royal College of Nursing’s planned strike action on 2 May unlawful,” Health Secretary Steve Barclay said late on Monday in a statement. “The government cannot stand by and let a plainly unlawful strike action go ahead.”
The legal action risks inflaming tensions with the union just 10 days after RCN members voted 54% to 46% to reject a new pay offer that had already been accepted by another big health care union, Unison. RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said the government needed to make a “significantly improved offer,” despite having recommended the rejected one to her members.
The RCN’s rejection dealt a major blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bid to end a series of damaging strikes within the country’s struggling National Health Service. His administration has said it will wait until all the relevant health care unions have completed their consultations on the new pay package before deciding how to proceed.
Nurses Derail Sunak’s Push to End Strikes Before Key UK Polls
The RCN is preparing to hold another strike ballot next month to secure another six-month mandate that would run from June to December. On Tuesday, it said it would contest the government’s legal arguments.
“The only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them – including in court,” Cullen said in an email to members, according to an RCN statement. “If the government succeeds in silencing members like you and convinces the court to stop part of our strike, then we’ll have no choice but to cut it short.”
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