Derriford nurses will join strikes

NURSING staff at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital will be among up to 100,000 nurses taking part in their biggest-ever strike next month, in a long-running dispute over pay.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will take industrial action on December 15 and 20, after voting in favour in a ballot.

Nurses and other nursing staff will take action at half of the locations in England where the legal mandate was reached for strikes, every NHS employer except one in Wales, and throughout Northern Ireland. A separate pay offer has been made in Scotland.

The number of NHS employers affected by action will increase in January unless negotiations are held, said the RCN. The union has repeated calls on the UK Government to accept its request for negotiations to resolve the dispute over pay and patient safety.