Ministers ‘punishing’ nurses in England, says union as NHS hit by biggest strike

A union leader has accused the government of choosing to “punish” nurses after a health minister insisted there would be no re-examination of NHS pay for this year, as the health service inThe industrial action on Monday is the first timenurses and ambulance staff in England have stopped work simultaneously, amid an ongoing dispute over pay and staffing.

Nurses on the picket line shared how low wages and high workloads were pushing them away from the NHS. Yoga Sundaram, who moved from India two years ago to work in the NHS after five years as a nurse and midwife in his home country, said many doctors and nurses who came from overseas left the NHS within months “as they come to learn about the level of pay and they can’t do anything”, while those who stayed had to take loans just to pay bills.

Speaking to broadcasters in Bristol, the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said Monday’s widespread strikes were “ a badge of shame for the government”. He said many people would be “absolutely flabbergasted that the government is still sitting this one out, not showing any leadership in the middle of a cost of living crisis, making the situation much worse than it otherwise would be.”

She told Sky News on Monday: “We’ve been pretty clear that we’re not going to look at the current year’s pay award. That was agreed in April by the unions and by the government and accepted in full. We really want to focus on the forthcoming pay awards.”

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