Nurses in Northern Ireland are currently taking further industrial action for 48 hours to campaign for equal pay with nurses in the rest of the UK and improved staffing levels.
In November, nearly all nurses (92%) who were polled voted to take industrial action, including strike action, for the first time in the history of the union of the Royal College of Nursing. Industrial action involves refusing to carry out any tasks not directly related to patient care, such as overtime work and answering phones on wards. The first day of action took place last week, on the 3rd of December.
A new pay offer from the Department of Health was made following the initial decision for action. However, it was rejected by unions last week, as it failed to offer pay rises that reached the level of pay of nursing staff in England. Following this, nurses are currently taking a further 48 hours of industrial action to push for pay parity and will also be going on strike on the 18th of December.
The Director of the RCN in Northern Ireland addressed the situation, saying, ‘The last thing that any nurse wants is to have to take industrial action. However, as we have stated on many occasions in recent weeks and months, nurses now feel that we have no choice’. He went on to say, ‘with around 2,800 vacant nursing posts in the system, record levels of expenditure on agency staff to try to plug the gaps, and nurses’ pay continuing to fall further and further behind the rest of the UK, nurses have had enough’.
Paramedics have also decided to join the strike action for 24 hours on the 18th of December, from 7am. Members of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service will be taking targeted action to disrupt services in support of the nurses’ strikes.