Northern Ireland nursing strike: Services listed which are exempt from strike action

Intensive care, chemotherapy and neonatal services will be exempted from the looming strike by nurses in Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Dec 2022, 11:31 BST
NHS workers from Unite, Unison, NIPSA, BMA and RCN hold a protest outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in west Belfast over ongoing pay issues.NHS workers from Unite, Unison, NIPSA, BMA and RCN hold a protest outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in west Belfast over ongoing pay issues.
NHS workers from Unite, Unison, NIPSA, BMA and RCN hold a protest outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in west Belfast over ongoing pay issues.

This comes ahead of industrial action short of a strike this Monday by members of the Unison and Nipsa trade unions in Northern Ireland as a campaign for increased pay steps up.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), ahead of its planned strike dates of December 15 and 20, announced last night a list of services to be exempted during the industrial action in the build-up to Christmas.

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The services are chemotherapy, dialysis, critical care units such as intensive care and high dependency, and neonatal and paediatric intensive care.

Other services will be reduced to Christmas day or night duty levels, the union said.

RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen, who is from Northern Ireland’s and led nurses here during the winter strike of 2019/20 as the union’s regional director, said that the list of exemptions announced on Friday evening shows how seriously nurses take their commitment to their jobs.

“Every nurse feels a heavy weight of responsibility to make this strike safe. Patients are already at great risk and we will not add to it,” she said.

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“This list of exemptions shows how seriously we take our commitment and it should put patients’ minds at ease.

“Nursing staff do not want to take this action but ministers have chosen strikes over negotiations. They can stop this at any point.”

The RCN has previously said that despite this year’s pay award of £1,400, experienced nurses are worse off by 20% in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.

Related topics:Northern IrelandRoyal College of NursingEnglandWalesUNISON