After railway, logistics, border police and airport workers on Wednesday, the day after a nurses’ strike, British paramedics are preparing to go on strike, joining a major social movement . In a United Kingdom which is bent under inflation at more than 10%, many sectors have decided to strike at the end of the year, and for many also at the beginning of January, to demand wage increases. Faced with this, the Rishi Sunak government remains inflexible.
This strike, which is very worrying, could have strong repercussions in hospitals. About 750 soldiers were mobilized to replace striking paramedics. “Many NHS leaders [le système public de santé, N.D.L.R.] tell us that they cannot guarantee patient safety tomorrow, ”warned Matthew Taylor, the director of the NHS Confederation which represents hospitals in England. “Clearly we have entered dangerous territory,” the director wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Both camp on their positions
Secretary of State for Health Will Quince called on the BBC on Thursday the British to avoid “risky activities”, before detailing: a jog on an icy road, a contact sport, or even a car ride “unnecessary “. An NHS official called for taking “reasonable steps”, including “drinking responsibly”.
Matthew Taylor urged the Prime Minister to quickly put an end to the conflict between the government and the unions, asking him to agree to “negotiate” on wages. But the government is sticking to its guns.
Health Minister Steve Barclay met with the unions on Tuesday, but without advancing on a solution. “It is disappointing that some unions are continuing their strike action,” he tweeted after the meeting. The demands of the unions are, according to him, “unaffordable”.
Onay Kasab, an official of the Unite union, deemed the meeting “completely unnecessary” due to the minister’s “refusal” to discuss salaries, and concluded: “How does he hope to get things moving and resolve the dispute without discussing of the key question? »