UK curbs nurses' strike after taking legal action against union

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had called a 48-hour strike from the evening of April 30, which for the first time would involve staff from emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempt.

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However, Britain’s health department said that industrial action on May 2 would be unlawful because a vote to strike is only valid for six months after a ballot of trade union members.

Lawyers representing health minister Steve Barclay told London’s High Court on Thursday that, as the RCN ballot closed on Nov. 2 last year, a strike on May 2 would be “clearly unlawful action”.

The RCN did not send lawyers to the hearing.

Judge Thomas Linden ruled on Thursday that the RCN’s mandate for industrial action ended at midnight on May 1, meaning its planned strike the following day would be unlawful.

RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen, speaking outside court before the hearing, had said it was a “sad day”.

“Steve Barclay may get a legal win today, but what he has done is he has lost the public and he has certainly lost nursing, so it is a short-term gain,” she said.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that nurses in England voted to reject the government’s new pay deal, their trade union said, setting out further strikes that will put the National Health Service under more strain as nurses hold out for a higher wage offer. About 54% of nurses who took part in a ballot voted to reject the pay deal, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – who had recommended members accept the deal.

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