London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Nurses' strike: 28-hour strike over pay under way

Nurses' strike: 28-hour strike over pay under way

Nurses in England have started a 28-hour strike, which NHS bosses say is the largest industrial action so far.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) rejected the government's pay offer and will walk out until midnight on Monday.

Union leaders agreed nurses could be called in during the strike to provide a minimal level of staffing in intensive care and for trauma services.

The government said the strike - which will impact around half of England's NHS trusts - risks patient safety.

This latest strike comes ahead of a crucial meeting between a number of health unions, ministers and NHS bosses on Tuesday, when the government's pay offer of 5% will be discussed.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay described the RCN's decision to press ahead with its strike as "premature" and disrespectful to other unions taking part in the meeting.

NHS England said the strike was the largest industrial action so far and warned patients to expect "disruptions and delays to services over the strike period".

It warned that staffing levels for some areas would be "exceptionally low, lower than on previous strike days" and the number of rescheduled appointments as a result of strike action was due to hit half a million next week.

However, it said discussions over the weekend had secured "a number of national agreements" to ensure staff could provide care "to protect life and limb services".

These will cover intensive care units, including for neonatal and paediatric care, as well as major trauma and resuscitation units.

A spokesperson for the RCN, which represents two-thirds of UK nurses, told the BBC that a "national agreement was reached on raising staffing levels in some key areas to preserve life and limb".

They added that this strike would be "more intense" than previous ones.

This means a small number of RCN members will be asked to work to provide a minimum standard of cover and meet the legal requirement on trade unions for life-and-limb cover to be provided.

Ministers and NHS chiefs had previously warned patient safety would be put at risk.

On Sunday, Health Secretary Mr Barclay said the strikes would put "more pressure on the NHS and will be incredibly disruptive for patients".

Doctor Jacob Mushlin, an accident and emergency consultant at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said the absence of nurses would create delays and lower the standard of treatment at his hospital and across the country.

"The nurses provide a vital service and one that can't be replaced by other members of staff," he said.

"We're going to find that we're going to be unable to provide anything other than life or limb preserving care."

Dr Mushlin also said he had seen a rising number of cases of "dreadful" aggression and violence towards hospital staff increasing because of long waiting times in the NHS, which was severely impacting morale.

The walkout by RCN members started at 20:00 BST and will end at midnight on Monday.

It was originally supposed to continue into Tuesday but a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful because a six-month mandate for action had expired.


'I'm dismayed it's come to this - cancer nurse'
Preya Assi, a cancer nurse at University College London Hospital


Cancer nurse Preya Assi has not taken strike action so far because her team at University College London Hospital has been exempted during previous walkouts.

It was deemed a critical service by the RCN so members were asked to stay at work while colleagues from other parts of the NHS took to the picket line.

But this time Ms Assi will be involved.

She said: "I feel dismayed. I and all my colleagues had been hoping it would not come to this."

She said the pay offer made by the government was "untenable" because of inflation, which had left nurses struggling to pay their bills and look after their families.

"This is not an action we take lightly, but it feels like there is no other way to get them to take notice of our plight."

The strike was called earlier this month after RCN members rejected a government offer to nurses in England of a 5% pay rise for 2023-24 and a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up last year's salary, depending on staff grade.

RCN leadership had recommended members accept the offer but it was rejected by 54% to 46%.

During nursing strikes earlier this year, in January and February, wider national exemptions were in place, meaning nursing cover was maintained in other critical areas.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
×