Royal College of Nurses (RCN) in the United Kingdom are on strike for the second day as government fails to adhere to their demand of salary increment.
About one hundred thousand nurses went on strike on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, the second time in a week as nurses demand response to their demands or face another strike action in January.
National Health Service (NHS) staff in England and Wales including nurses have been given an average increment of 4.75% with the lowest paid guaranteed a rise of at least 1400 pounds, nurses in Ireland however have not received and are expected to and also a backdate of earlier payments.
Starting salaries for nurses in the UK under the NHs contract is 27,000 pounds a year; however, healthcare assistants, porters and cleaners are on a lower pay band.
Experienced nurses can earn close to 33,000, Specialist nurses 47,000 and Consultant nurses 55,000.
Health sector bosses warned government about risk to patient safety if the strike continues.
Ambulance staff in England and Wales are set to join in the strike on Wednesday and December 28,2022.
Inflation in the UK has seen an exponential growth since 2020, from 0.2% in 2020 to 10.7% in November 2022. The country has also kicked out two Prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Lizz Truss in 2022 amidst its financial crisis.
Source: BBC
