Strike ballots from two more Northern Ireland health unions to close tomorrow

Members of Unison and Nipsa who work in the health service have until November 18 to decide whether they are prepared to go on strike over pay and working conditions.

The Unite trade union, meanwhile, is due to open a strike ballot involving its health service members on the same date.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has already announced that its members in Northern Ireland, and across the UK, have voted in favour of a walkout.

If Unite, Unison and Nipsa join them on the picket lines Northern Ireland will likely see a repeat of the scenes from the winter of 2019/20 when health workers in various professions took part in strikes.

While the RCN has previously indicated its intention to strike this year, dates have yet to be formally announced.

Earlier this week, Unison hinted that if its members also vote in favour of a strike there could be some form of industrial action as soon as December.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Unison said: "We can expect disruption across the whole health service from early next month."

Unions across the UK have reacted negatively to a pay award worth between 4-5% for some nurses, but in Northern Ireland there has been no award put forward at all due to the powersharing impasse at Stormont.

Robin Swann, when he was in post as Health Minister earlier this year, said he could not implement any pay award without the approval of the Stormont Executive.

The RCN is campaigning for a pay uplift of 5% above the rate of inflation, which is currently in excess of 10%.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaking at the G20 summit of world leaders in Indonesia, said the pay deal sought by the nurses’ union was “unaffordable”.

The Prime Minister told ITV News: “What the unions are asking for is a 17% pay rise, and I think most people watching will understand that that’s unaffordable and the way we deal with these situations, because of course, it’s difficult and of course people are struggling, is that we have an independent body make recommendations to the Government about what a fair settlement is.”