Nurses’ decision to seek double-digit pay rise ‘confusing’, cabinet minister says – as union leader hits out
The head of the UK’s nursing union wants to restart negotiations seeking a double-digit pay rise – despite previously recommending a lower offer.
Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), had advised members to accept an offer of 5%, but they voted to reject it.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, cabinet minister Grant Shapps said: “I find this a very curious story indeed because Pat Cullen just recently was encouraging her members to settle for the pay rise that was put on the table.
Nurses on strike outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London in April
“I thought this was a great settlement.
“It’s frankly rather confusing having encouraged her members to accept that deal, she seems to now be coming back and saying the opposite.
“You have got to balance that with the rest of the public purse.”
But speaking on Sunday, Ms Cullen hit back, saying the decision by nurses to reject the deal in a ballot was them saying “loud and clear” that the offer – of a 9% increase consolidated over two years – was “just not enough”.
“They rejected that and they want negotiations re-opened for them and here needs to be more money added to the table,” she said.
Asked if a double-digit pay rise was achievable, she said: “There is nothing unrealistic about what nursing staff are asking for.
“The only way that we are going to resolve this dispute is to listen to their voice and make sure this pay dispute is resolved, for patients as much as it is for the profession.”
RCN members will be balloted again for strike action on 23 May after the existing six-month mandate ran out at the start of the month.
Ms Cullen described striking as one of the “hardest decisions”, and told The Sunday Times that fresh negotiations were needed to prevent six more months of action.
“They [ministers] owe that to nursing staff not to push them to have to do another six months of industrial action right up to Christmas,” she said ahead of Sunday’s RCN congress in Brighton, telling Health Secretary Steve Barclay talks needed to “start off in double figures”.
“It’s just not right for the profession,” she said.
“It’s not right for patients. But whose responsibility is it to resolve it? It is this government.”
An RCN spokesperson said: “The negotiations covered two financial years which resulted in a consolidated NHS pay increase of 9%. When our members rejected that, it is clear they expect an offer into double figures.”
Fourteen other unions have accepted the government’s 5% offer, including Unison, the NHS’s biggest union. Others like Unite continue to seek a better offer.
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Earlier this month: Nurse strikes could go ‘right up to Christmas’
A health department source added: “It is strange how quickly the RCN leader has changed her tune from recommending this pay deal, which she now refers to as an insult to nurses.”
The comments come after Ms Cullen told The Sunday Times: “It’s not so long ago since the prime minister went on the media and very publicly said nurses are an exception,” she said when asked why nurses warrant a larger increase than other healthcare workers.
“I would totally agree with him… they should be made an exception because they are exceptional people.”
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The mental health nurse, 58, from Co Tyrone, said patient safety was “at the centre of everything that we do”.
“We will do nothing that will add further risk to the patients that we look after,” she said, saying increased pay would see nurses return to the profession and ease a staffing crisis.
“The truth is that patient safety cannot be guaranteed on any day of the week. How could you guarantee patient safety when you have 47,000 nurses from your workforce every single day and night?”
She also warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak not to take her members lightly.
“Looking back on this pay offer, I may personally have underestimated the members and their sheer determination,” she said.
“I think what I would be saying to the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is ‘Don’t – don’t make that same mistake, don’t underestimate them’.
“Nurses believe it’s their duty and their responsibility because this government is not listening to them on how to bring it [the NHS] back from the brink and the message to the prime minister is that they are absolutely not going to blink first in these negotiations.”
At least 36 people have been killed after a fire engulfed several buildings at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said another 279 people were reported missing. He said 29 people remained in hospital.
About 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters after the blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in years – broke out at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city’s Tai Po district.
Three men have since been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, broadcaster RTHK reported.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile, fire chiefs said the high temperatures were making it challenging for crews to mount rescue operations.
Mr Lee said the fire was “coming under control” shortly after midnight.
The blaze was upgraded to a level 5 alarm, the highest level of severity, as night fell.
Pics: AP
The dead included one firefighter, officials said earlier.
A number of other firefighters were said to have been hurt while trying to tackle the flames as they ripped through the 31-storey towers.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: AP
Records show the Wang Fuk Court site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 apartments housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
The fire, which broke out at 2.51pm local time, had spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting set up around the exterior of the complex.
It was not known how the fire started, but officials said it began on the external scaffolding of one of the buildings before spreading inside and to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Flames and smoke were still pouring out of many windows as night fell.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died, and extended his sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged an “all-out” effort to minimise casualties and losses.
The UK’s foreign secretary described the fire as “truly devastating and deeply depressing”. Yvette Cooper said: “The UK sends heartfelt condolences to all the families affected and to the people of Hong Kong.”
Tai Po is in the northern part of Hong Kong, and close to the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
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Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects.
However, the government said earlier this year it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.
The blaze is the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since the deaths of 41 people in a commercial building in Kowloon in November 1996.
That fire was later found to have been caused by welding during internal renovations, with a public inquiry yielding sweeping updates to building standards and fire safety regulations in the city’s high-rise offices, shops and homes.
Two military personnel who were shot near the White House in Washington DC have died.
A suspect has been taken into custody and the area secured, police said.
The White House was placed into lockdown, while US President Donald Trump is away in Florida.
Washington DC shooting latest updates
Pics: AP
Mr Trump initially posted on his Truth Social platform to say the two National Guardsmen had been “critically wounded”, adding that the “animal” that shot them “is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price”.
But West Virginia’s governor said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries.
Patrick Morrisey added: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country. … Our entire state grieves with their families, their loved ones, and the Guard community. West Virginia will never forget their service or their sacrifice, and we will demand full accountability for this horrific act.”
Pic: AP
Police tape cordoned off the scene, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby.
Emergency personnel cordon off an area near where National Guard soldiers were shot. Pics: AP
The Joint DC Task Force confirmed it was responding to an incident in the vicinity of the White House.
The DC Police Department posted on X: “Critical Incident: MPD is on the scene of a shooting at 17th and I Street, NW. Please avoid the area.”
In an update, the force said: “The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation.
“The president has been briefed.”
Mr Trump was at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, while US vice president JD Vance was in Kentucky.
Flights arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were temporarily halted due to its proximity to the scene of the shooting, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.
Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the nation’s capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.
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