Nurses could strike until Christmas, says the Royal College of Nursing, as it warns it will not pause a 48-hour strike in England over the first May bank holiday.
Leader Pat Cullen told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the government needed to put more money on the table.
But she had “no plans” to co-ordinate strikes with those by junior doctors.
Conservative party chairman Greg Hands said the government’s pay offer was “fair and reasonable”.
Asked whether it is was a final offer, he said the government needed to wait to see what other heath service unions involved in the pay dispute decided in their own ballots – and pointed out that it has already been accepted by members of Unison.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said he was “really worried” about the strike action by nurses and he was not in support of it because of the risks to patients’ safety.
The strike will involve NHS nurses in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards, which would be a…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk