In a fresh exchange of letters on Saturday afternoon between the RCN’s General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay MP, the union leader has reiterated the call for negotiations to settle the dispute over NHS pay and patient safety.
Mr Barclay asked for the RCN to “come back to the table” on Saturday after it announced the first two dates of strike action for next month.
In an immediate response Mrs Cullen said the position of the union’s members remains “negotiations or nothing”.
Since the result of the ballot was made public two weeks ago, the RCN has sought detailed and formal negotiations with government and has attended two meetings with the Health Secretary that did not focus on this year’s NHS pay dispute.
Mrs Cullen added: “If the negotiation table is empty, we can see you are not serious about progress.”
She ends the letter “On behalf of every nurse, let’s negotiate.”
On the matter of strike exemptions and patient safety, the union will meet with senior NHS officials in the coming days.
Ends
Notes to Editors
Full text of the letter from the RCN to the Health Secretary:
Dear Secretary of State,
Another day, another exchange of letters.
I’m afraid the position of my members is ‘negotiations or nothing’.
You cannot shut them out and then repeat that your door is open. If the negotiation table is empty, we can see you are not serious about progress.
This dispute needs resolving and strike action is now little over a fortnight away.
On behalf of every nurse, let’s negotiate.
Yours sincerely,
Pat Cullen
