Tens of thousands of British healthcare workers joined the picket lines on Monday over a pay dispute with the government in what is expected to be the largest strike in the 75-year history of the National Health Service.
The planned 48-hour walkout is the latest in a series of strikes that have been disrupting the public health sector in the United Kingdom for months, as unions representing ambulance workers and nurses demand pay increases to meet the rate of inflation and address staffing shortages. The British government has said that the wage hikes are unaffordable and would drive up the government deficit, which would hurt the overall economy.
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“It will be the biggest day of industrial action in the 75-year history of the NHS. Nursing staff find that a sobering realisation of how far they have been pushed to protect patient care and secure some respect for the nursing profession,” said Pat Cullen, the general secretary and chief executive for the Royal College of Nursing trade union.
While nursing and ambulance union workers said that the walkout wouldn’t disrupt emergency care and cancer treatments, thousands of procedures and medical appointments were postponed or canceled in preparation for Monday’s strike.
Maria Caulfield, the British minister for mental health and women’s health strategy, told Sky News that record levels of funding have already been directed to the NHS for things such as ambulances and medical equipment.
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“We’ve got one of the busiest winters we have ever had, with record levels of funding going into the NHS to try and manage services,” said Caulfield. “So every percent of a pay increase takes money away.”
Like the United States, the U.K. saw an uptick in respiratory viruses, including the respiratory syncytial virus, the flu, and COVID-19, in recent months that put a strain on the hospital system.
