Nurses in Britain will take part in their first ever national walkout on Thursday, as a bitter dispute with the government over pay ramps up pressure on already-stretched hospitals at one of the busiest times of year.
An estimated 100,000 nurses will strike at 76 hospitals and health centres, cancelling thousands of non-urgent operations, such as hip replacements, and tens of thousands of outpatient appointments in the state-funded National Health Service.
Britain is facing a wave of industrial action this winter, with strikes crippling the rail network and postal service, and airports bracing for disruption over Christmas.
Inflation running at more than 10%, trailed by pay offers of about 4%, is stoking tensions between unions and employers.
Of all the strikes though, it will be the sight of nurses on picket lines that will be the stand-out image for many Britons this winter.
"It is deeply regrettable some union members are going ahead with strike action," Health Minister Steve Barclay said.
"I’ve been working across government and with medics outside the public sector to ensure safe staffing levels - but I do remain concerned about the risk that strikes pose to patients."
Barclay said patients should continue to seek urgent medical care and attend appointments unless they have been told not to.
The industrial action by nurses on December 15 and December 20 is unprecedented in the British nursing union's 106-year history, but the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says it has no choice as workers struggle to make ends meet.
Nurses want a 19% pay rise, arguing they have suffered a decade of real-terms cuts and that low pay means staff shortages and unsafe care for patients. The government has refused to discuss pay.
The government in Scotland avoided a nursing strike by holding talks on pay, an outcome which the RCN had hoped for in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but Barclay is not budging.
The government has said it cannot afford to pay more than the 4-5% offered to nurses, which was recommended by an independent body, and that further pay increases would mean taking money away from frontline services.
The RCN has accused the government of "belligerence". It said as late as Tuesday that the strikes could still be stopped if the government was prepared to negotiate.
Some treatment areas will be exempt from strike action the RCN has said, including chemotherapy, dialysis and intensive care.
Polling ahead of the nursing strike showed that a majority of Britons support the action, but once the walk-outs are under way politicians will be closely monitoring public opinion.
Unions allowed to challenge rules over agency staff
A group of British trade unions has been given the go-ahead by London's High Court to bring a legal challenge against the government over regulations allowing companies to hire agency staff to fill in for striking workers, the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) said on Wednesday.
Eleven trade unions across a range of industries and representing millions of workers say the rules could worsen industrial disputes and undermine the right to strike.
The British government this year changed rules to make it easier for businesses to use temporary staff to minimise the impact of strike action as workers across the rail network and other industries walked out in disputes over pay.
The TUC, which is coordinating the legal action, said a full hearing will be held next year, alongside separate legal cases by two other unions which have also been given permission to challenge the regulations.
The unions argue that then-business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng failed to consult unions about the rules, which they also say violate trade union rights.
"Ministers are shamelessly falling over themselves to find new ways to make it harder for working people to bargain for better pay and conditions," TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said in a statement.
"These attacks on the right to strike are likely illegal. Ministers failed to consult with unions, as the law requires. And restricting the freedom to strike is a breach of international law."
A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the impact strikes have on the economy and the public and are clear that they should always be a last resort. It would not be appropriate to comment further on an ongoing legal matter.”
