Highland nurses set to strike before Christmas amid stand-off over pay with the Scottish Government
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Highland nurses are among hundreds of thousands across the UK who will take industrial action before Christmas.
Every single health board in Scotland voted to go on strikes that, if no resolution is found, are expected to last until May 2023.
That means staff at any of NHS Highland's 24 hospitals and units dotted across the north, including the four general hospitals – in Inverness, Wick, Fort William and Oban.
Yesterday the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) – the union representing the health workers – rejected the revised offer from the Scottish government.
They are asking for a pay rate of five per cent about the current Retail Price Index – which stands at just over 10 per cent.
According to the RCN, the updated offer represented 'yet another real-terms pay cut after a 16 per cent real-terms cut over the last decade'.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf said the walkout would be 'catastrophic' for the NHS with this winter already expected to be among the most challenging ever faced.
The walkout is almost certainly going to have a major impact on available health services in the north as well as waiting times.
The RCN insists that 'any industrial action it initiates has the preservation of patient safety at its core' and 'will be carried out legally and safely at all times'.
It added: “The RCN will announce detailed plans and timelines for strike action soon with the mandate to organise strikes running until early May 2023.”
RCN General Secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said: “Anger has become action – our members are saying enough is enough. The voice of nursing in the UK is strong and I will make sure it is heard. Our members will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work.
“Ministers must look in the mirror and ask how long they will put nursing staff through this. While we plan our strike action, next week’s budget is the UK government’s opportunity to signal a new direction with serious investment. Across the country, politicians have the power to stop this now and at any point.
“This action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses. Standards are falling too low and we have strong public backing for our campaign to raise them. This winter, we are asking the public to show nursing staff you are with us.”
