NURSES in Northern Ireland will not be taking part in the latest strike action scheduled for the new year, but the Royal College of Nursing has warned that a "prolonged" dispute is now likely.
In a statement today, the union said nurses in England would strike again on January 18 and 19 but further dates would be confirmed at a later date.
It follows two days of strikes in Northern Ireland, England and Wales on December 15 and 20 which saw thousands of appointments cancelled.
Despite the strikes enjoying significant support from the public, the government is still refusing to negotiate with the union over pay.
Health workers have already been awarded a £1,400 pay increase, but the RCN is asking for an increase above the rate of inflation to stop more nurses leaving the profession.
In Scotland, nurses voted to reject a 7.5 per cent pay offer and will join picket lines in the new year unless agreement can be reached.
RCN leader Pat Cullen said today: “The Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.
“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.”
She said that calling strikes in different areas at different times was because the industrial action "may need to be prolonged" without agreement.
Calling the public support "heart-warming," she maintained that low pay and staff shortages made hospitals "unsafe" for patients.
"The sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's vice president Michelle O'Neill criticised the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's "unacceptable" refusal to negotiate with health workers.
“Our health and social care system in the north is in crisis as a result of 12 years of Tory austerity which has underfunded and undermined our public services," she said.
“Striking workers are not only taking a stand for fair pay and safe staffing levels but they are also standing up in defence of the heatlh and social care system which continues to deteriorate and is facing into possibly its worst ever winter of pressures."
She added: “Our nurses and health workers shouldn’t have been forced onto the streets to take strike action in the freezing cold for fair pay and conditions."
After raising the issue with Mr Sunak in Belfast last week, Ms O'Neill said it was now time he "started listening and started negotiating."
The Belfast Trust today said the GP Out of Hours Service had been experiencing "unprecedented demand" in recent days and encouraged parents to use the Trust's online symptom checker for expert guidance.
