‘Determined’ Northern Ireland nurses go out on strike

Strikes have been taking place since just after midnight and have seen nurses, ambulance staff and other health workers walking out and standing with placards in temperatures as low as -4C.

“It was extremely cold, but they were very determined to stand out and speak up"

Anne Speed

Anne Speed, head of bargaining and representation at Unison Northern Ireland, told Nursing Times thousands of nurses were striking.

She said the atmosphere on the picket lines was one of determination and frustration and that there was “great solidarity among the workers”.

Members of the public had also shown support and had brought striking staff hot drinks and snacks.

“In freezing temperatures, that response from the public has been a real morale boost,” said Ms Speed.

Ms Speed said she was at the picket at Antrim Area Hospital this morning and the first group of staff who came out were nurses.

“It was extremely cold, but they were very determined to stand out and speak up,” she added.

One staff nurse on the picket line, who has been nursing for more than 40 years, described the current pay and conditions for health staff as “terrible”.

Nurses in Northern Ireland only received confirmation of their 2022-23 pay award last week, following an eight-month delay.

The award will see most staff on the Agenda for Change scheme receive a boost of £1,400 to their full-time equivalent salaries, as per the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body.

The below-inflation pay package is the same as that received by nurses in England and Wales which is causing them to strike too this month.

Ms Speed told Nursing Times: “Our nurses are saying, we may have reinstated pay parity but we're at one with our colleagues in England and Wales – a below inflation uplift isn't enough.”

She added: “We need more discussion, we need more engagement, more funding.”

There are due to be further nurse strikes in Northern Ireland on 15 and 20 December hosted by the Royal College of Nursing.

Since 5 December, Unison Northern Ireland members have also been taking part in action short of strike, such as working to their contracts, ending their shifts on time and refusing overtime.

In a joint statement today, the chief executives of Northern Ireland’s health trusts confirmed that contingency plans were in place to protect critical services during the “prolonged period of industrial action”.

They also expressed support for staff being “properly rewarded” and highlighted the work carried out by health workers to get the country through the peaks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement read: “Working in the health and social and care system is a way of life.

“The HSC is a family because of the incredible work that takes place on a daily basis, often including additional service over and above normal duties. We obviously want to see all staff properly rewarded for their work.

“They have been impacted heavily by cost-of-living increases and escalating pressures on health and social care services. We must also never forget what they did for us all during the pandemic.”

The latest industrial action follows a history-making walk-out by nurses in Northern Ireland in 2019-20 over pay and staffing.

The Northern Ireland Department of Health has been approached for a comment.