Royal College of Nursing announces strike action, while pharmacists continue to suffer

By Sam Sorabjee, Gulsum Boluk and Sarah Scheeres

Nurses across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will strike on 15th and 20th December after the government rejected RNC’s pay rise demand. Pharmacists who are facing the same struggles have no union support for strike action.

An RCN’s press release said: “Despite this year’s pay award, experienced nurses are worse off by 20% in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.” This will be the first time nurses have staged a strike in RCN’s 106-year history, further highlighting the turmoil with the NHS.

Pakize Durmaz, 39, an NHS matron at New Cross Hospital and Inspirational Leader for Nurses, said: “Nurses are already so tired because of the Covid19, they want to spend time helping the patients but the NHS has a big nurse shortage. That’s why they cannot work, they want to but they are so stressed now. 

“After the pandemic, they still could not rest. Despite the increase in inflation, the salaries of nurses did not increase at all. Because of this, they began to feel worthless. That’s why they will strike after 106 years and now they want their voices to be heard. 

“Although there is a shortage of NHS nurses, the amount of work for nurses increased, while salaries stagnated. They had to do this strike.”

Pharmacists have faced similar challenges in the past decade, but don’t have the same rights to strike. With inflation hitting record highs, pharmacists are left to absorb the decreases to their real wage.

Ogul Yagmur, 38, a pharmacist in London said: “Since there is a shortage of pharmacists in the UK, working hours are very busy, but all the responsibilities of the patient are left with us. There is no fair system as the salaries of pharmacists across the UK vary widely. Unlike  nurses, we don’t even have the right to strike to increase wages or reduce working hours.”

Pharmacies in the UK are typically employed by the NHS, though indirectly, so their pay depends on their employer. 

Ka Men Chow, 31, a pharmacist on Holloway Road, said: “There will come a point where we won’t be able to supply medication because of the cost of it.”