Nursing staff across three different NHS trusts in Greater Manchester are striking today as part of the biggest NHS strike action to take place in the UK.
Both nursing and ambulance staff are lining the pickets this Monday, making February 6th one of the biggest ever days for strike action in the NHS.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) first announced last November that a number of NHS trusts would be taking part in strike action this winter. Since December, the number of trusts taking part in the strikes has risen from 44 to 73 in this week’s action.
Three out of nine NHS trusts in Greater Manchester voted in favour of industrial action, those striking today are: Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Speaking to Gabbi Cohen, a 29-year-old nurse educator on strike in the Greater Manchester area, she said: “It’s actually quite sad. This is not something that we want to be doing, but we’re doing it because we feel like it’s the only option. It’s not like we’re happy to be out on strike.”
“Since I started working, we have worked completely understaffed, underfunded and undervalued.
“If we want to keep the NHS and recruit people into nursing, this is the only option and we need something to change. We can’t keep living month to month on pay cheques, we can’t keep working on goodwill”.
Victoria Roberts, a 40-year-old Research Nurse also on strike, spoke about the moral conflict nurses on strike face and how they try to navigate it.
“In departments we’ve done some striking some days, some striking in others,” she told MM.
“There’s that care there even still behind trying to get this message across. A lot of nurses are not only striking for themselves but for the future of nursing because otherwise we’re going to lose the NHS and nobody’s going to have it.”
“If we don’t take action then nothing’s going to change. We’re already losing so many staff and wages are below average.”
A report conducted by researchers at London School Economics found that nursing staff in England and Wales have received a real term pay cut of 20% since 2010.
Earlier this week, the RCN announced they were cancelling the nurse strikes scheduled in Wales after negotiations with the Welsh government resulted in a new pay offer for 2022-2023.
After this announcement, RCN representatives for England said they would also cancel the planned strikes this week if the English government said it would be prepared to make the same offer to NHS England staff – but no such offer has been made as of yet.
RCN’s General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said ahead of strikes today: “If the other governments can negotiate and find more money for this year, the Prime Minister can do the same. Rishi Sunak has no place left to hide. His unwillingness to help nursing is being exposed as a personal choice, not an economic necessity.”
