Steve Barclay has “lost the public” and striking nurses “are not going to go away”, the head of the Royal College of Nursing, Pat Cullen, has warned.
Her comments came after Barclay, the health secretary, described the industrial action by nurses as “premature” and “disrespectful” to other trade unions who are set to meet to discuss the government’s pay offer on Tuesday.
Through the NHS Staff Council, the unions will consider the offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between £1,655 and £3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.
Cullen, the general secretary of the RCN, urged the health secretary “not to be disrespectful” to nurses amid their “biggest strike yet” over the bank holiday.
Full story in The Guardian, 2 May 2023