Nurses offer to call off strikes in England if Sunak makes fresh pay offer

The caput of the UK's biggest nursing national has urged Rishi Sunak to marque a caller wage connection to debar adjacent week's planned strikes successful England going ahead.

In a missive seen by the BBC, caput of the Royal College of Nursing Pat Cullen said she was "appealing directly" to Mr Sunak for the archetypal time.

Citing wage negotiations successful Wales and Scotland, she said a renewed connection oregon caller talks could halt the action.

Downing Street has been approached for remark connected Ms Cullen's letter.

"Your authorities looks progressively isolated successful refusing to reopen 2022/23," she wrote, adding she had made it wide successful meetings with Health Secretary Steve Barclay "that opening negotiations and making meaningful offers tin avert onslaught action".

Referring to the premier minister's comments successful an interrogation this week to people his 100th time successful bureau - successful which helium said nurses should beryllium treated arsenic "an exception" - Ms Cullen said the premier curate "appeared to show a alteration successful code successful respect of the onslaught by nursing staff".

In England, astir NHS unit person already received a wage emergence of astir £1,400 this twelvemonth - worthy astir 4% connected mean for nurses. The RCN is calling for a 19% wage rise, though it has indicated it whitethorn conscionable the authorities "halfway".

Unions representing ambulance workers and physiotherapists besides privation above-inflation wage rises, but person not specified a figure.

The authorities says the demands are unaffordable, and that wage rises are decided by autarkic wage reappraisal bodies.

Union members successful England are readying to onslaught connected 6 and 7 February.