London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Nurses could strike until Christmas, union leader says

Nurses could strike until Christmas, union leader says

Royal College of Nursing leader Pat Cullen called for the Government to improve its pay offer to avoid further strikes.
Nurses could strike until Christmas if they cannot reach a deal with the Government, a union leader has warned.

The NHS faces a summer of chaos after members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) rejected a pay deal on Friday evening.

The union announced members will walk out from 8pm on Sunday April 30 to 8pm on Tuesday May 2.

RCN leader Pat Cullen called for the Government to improve its pay offer to avoid further strikes. However, she assured patients that nurses will come off picket lines to deal with emergencies.

The new wave of protests will see NHS nurses in emergency departments, intensive care and cancer wards take industrial action for the first time.

Asked if the union will stop strike action, Ms Cullen told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg On Sunday programme: “No, our nurses will absolutely not do that.

“We have strike action for the end of this month and the beginning of May.

“Then we will move immediately to ballot our members.

“If that ballot is successful it will mean further strike action right up until Christmas.”

The union leader added that nurses saw a one-off Covid bonus offered by the Government as a “bribe”.

NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery told the programme it is “not sustainable” for the NHS to continue managing strike action.

She said: “It’s really clear to me that it’s not sustainable going forward for the NHS to manage strike action.

“It feels like a really ugly situation to say we are going to have strikes now until Christmas.

“We really desperately need the Government to come to the table alongside the unions coming to the table to sort this out.”

In an opinion piece for The Sun, Health Secretary Steve Barclay warned that fresh nurses’ strikes would have a “deeply concerning” impact on emergency services and cancer care.

The Health Secretary called on the RCN to accept the Government’s pay offer so the NHS can “get back to focusing on patients”.

Ms Cullen confirmed she had received a letter from Mr Barclay on Sunday morning.

On Friday, Unison’s NHS members accepted the NHS pay offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year. However, 54 per cent of RCN members voted to reject the deal.

The turnout among RCN members employed on NHS Agenda for Change contracts in England was 61 per cent. The RCN announcement came as around 47,000 junior doctors finished their 96-hour strike in a separate dispute over pay at 7am on Saturday.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting appealed to the RCN to continue to protect emergency lifesaving care if it strikes again.

The Labour politician told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “I’m deeply worried about the risk of escalation of the nature of their dispute, to remove what’s known as the derogations, the measures they put in place to protect those areas of care.”

Tory Party chairman Greg Hands said more strikes by nurses would “clearly have an impact” as he declined to criticise them for deciding not to provide cover for emergencies.

Mr Hands told Sky News: “I think the public are very concerned, understandably, and we will do everything that we can, and I’m sure the management of the NHS will do everything that it can to make sure that the impact of the strike is kept under control.

“But I wouldn’t be being truthful if I didn’t say it will have an impact. Nurses going on strike will clearly have an impact.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
×