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Further strike action organized for November

Nurses and midwives will strike again over pay in November, the main unions have confirmed.
Nurses and midwives will strike again over pay in November, the main unions have confirmed. Members of Unite, Unison and the RCM, among others, will stage a four-hour strike across England on 24 November from 07.00 to 11.00am. An eight-week work-to-rule will also start on 24 November and run to 19 January 2015. This follows the first strike action by nurses for 32 years on 13 October. Rachel Maskell, Unite's head of health, said: 'We will continue to support our members and carry on with industrial action until Jeremy Hunt comes to the negotiating table. He should bear in mind that the general election is approaching and things could get messy for him.' The RCM reiterated their position, with a spokesman saying: 'It is unacceptable for the government to refuse to negotiate. We will continue with industrial action until our requests our heard.' The unions balloted their members in September after the recommended one per cent pay rise for 2015/16 was blocked by the government. The RCN chose not to ballot their members on strike action. It previously advised members that they should attend work normally, but not volunteer for unpaid overtime to cover for striking colleagues.