LONDON, (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance service staff walked off the job yesterday in a pay dispute, putting further strain on Britain’s state-run National Health Service with their largest ever strike.
Nurses and ambulance workers have been striking separately since late last year but Monday’s walkout involving both, largely in England, is the biggest in the 75-year history of the NHS.
Nurses will also walk out on Tuesday, ambulance staff on Friday, and physiotherapists Thursday, making the week probably the most disruptive in NHS history, its Medical Director Stephen Powis said.
Health workers are demanding a pay rise that reflects the worst inflation in Britain in four decades. The government says that would be unaffordable and only cause more price rises, making interest rates and mortgage payments rise further.
“The government needs to listen and discuss pay rather than just saying the NHS doesn’t have money,” said nurse Ethna Vaughan, who was part of a demonstration outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in central London.
“We cannot survive with what we’re being paid.”
Around 500,000 workers, many from the public sector, have been staging strikes since last summer, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to resolve the disputes and limit disruption to public services such as railways and schools.
