In the face of looming strike threats, Britain's Health Minister, Steve Barclay, made it clear on Sunday that the government would not engage in negotiations with the nurses' union regarding

pay.

The government had previously presented an offer that included a one-time payment equivalent to 2% of salaries for the 2022/23 financial year, along with a 5% pay increase for 2023/24. However, this proposal was rejected by members of the Royal College of Nursing in April.

When asked by Sky News if the government would be willing to restart discussions with the union, Barclay responded, "Not on the amount of pay."

Meanwhile, the union is currently conducting a ballot among its 300,000 members to determine whether further strike action will be taken over the next six months.

At the time of this article, the union had not provided a response to Reuters' request for comment on Barclay's statements. However, they have consistently maintained that NHS staff should be compensated "fairly" by the government.

The relationship between the nurses' union and the government has become strained, particularly after the health department placed limitations on the duration of strikes following legal action against the RCN, resulting in disrupted patient care. Photo by Richard Townshend, Wikimedia commons.