The DHSC and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have entered talks, suspending the union’s plan for a 48-hour strike, the Government has confirmed.
In a statement, released today (21 February), the DHSC said it and the RCN had ‘agreed to enter a process of intensive talks’.
Health secretary Steve Barclay will meet with the College on Wednesday (22 February), with the RCN to pause strike action during these talks.
It comes after the RCN last week (16 February) announced its largest strike to date, which would have seen nurses stage a 48-hour walkout across 128 NHS employers in March.
The ongoing talks will focus on pay, terms and conditions, and ‘productivity enhancing reforms’.
In a statement, the DHSC said: ‘Both sides are committed to finding a fair and reasonable settlement that recognises the vital role that nurses and nursing play in the National Health Service and the wider economic pressures facing the United Kingdom and the Prime Minister’s priority to halve inflation. The talks will focus on pay, terms and conditions, and productivity enhancing reforms.’
