A pay rise demanded by nurses about to go on strike is “obviously unaffordable” the prime minister has said.
Speaking on Friday the prime minister claimed that demands by the Royal College of Nursing amounted to a 19 per cent or £10 billion pay rise.
Mr Sunak said he has “enormous respect and gratitude” for nurses but told broadcasters: “What the unions are asking for, I think, is a 19 per cent pay rise.
“And I think most people watching will recognise that that’s obviously unaffordable, and that’s why I’m pleased that the Health Secretary is sitting down, talking to the union, and hopefully we can find a way through this.”
Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to strike for two days in December in what is set to be their biggest stoppage in NHS history.
They will still provide emergency care, but routine operations are set to be hit.
In Scotland, the RCN has paused announcing strike action after the devolved Government there reopened NHS pay talks.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen said today that it was ministers who had “chosen strike action” by refusing pay demands.
“Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve,” she said.
The RCN is asking for nurses to be given a rise at 5 per cent above RPI inflation. RPI is currently at 14 per cent.
Any rise of less than inflation would represent a real terms pay cut for a sector that is already struggling with retention and recruitment.
The union says there is a strong economic argument for paying nursing staff fairly was when billions of pounds are being spent on agency staff to plug workforce gaps.
According to RCN figures in the last year 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, while there are 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in England’s NHS alone.
Ms Cullen has urged Health Secretary Steve Barclay to “stop the spin and start to speak” with nurses to avert the walkout, which would take place on December 15 and December 20.
