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Strike outside St. Thomas' Hospital in London: Nursing staff are demanding higher wages
Photo: ANDY RAIN/EPA
Nurses in the British health service NHS have gone on historic strike in a collective bargaining dispute over higher wages and better working conditions.
For the first time in its history, the Royal College of Nursing called on tens of thousands of members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to stop working for twelve hours on Thursday morning.
About a quarter of hospitals in England are affected.
According to the Secretary of State for Health Maria Caulfield, around 70,000 appointments, treatments and operations in the largest part of Britain are to be cancelled.
Emergencies not affected by the strike
The conservative central government in London rejects workers' demands for a 19 percent pay rise as unaffordable.
According to its own statements, it has submitted an offer that is in line with the recommendation of an independent body.
In Scotland, the union had reached an agreement with the regional government at short notice.
Emergencies should be treated despite the walkout.
The military should step in to drive ambulances, for example – but not in emergency situations.
Long waiting times for routine procedures
The British healthcare system is in a deep crisis, which has been exacerbated by the corona pandemic.
Millions of people are waiting for a routine procedure.
Rescue services take significantly longer than planned to get to emergencies.
This is also due to the fact that they sometimes have to wait hours before admission to hand over their patients.
According to a study, Brexit has also exacerbated the shortage of doctors in Great Britain.
According to this, around 4,000 doctors from EU countries are missing in the British healthcare system in the most important specialist areas.
Read more about this here.
Another strike is planned for December 20th, and ambulance drivers plan to stop work on December 21st and 28th.
The strikes had already been announced at the end of November.
ani/dpa
