THOUSANDS of health workers across the north have begun 12-hour strike action in a dispute over pay and patient safety.
The Royal College of Nursing, who represent around 9,000 nurses, are taking strike action for the first time in its 103-year history.
About 6,500 other nurses, who are members of Unison have also walked out.
On Tuesday night, leaders of the five main parties met the head of the NI Civil Service, David Sterling, and Health Department Permanent Secretary, Richard Pengelly, in a 12th-hour bid to avert the strike action and state their “collective support for the restoration of pay parity”.
The Northern Ireland Office later said that Health was a devolved matter and Mr Sterling rejected the idea of restoring pay parity on the grounds of public interest.
UNISON Regional Secretary Patricia McKeown said: “Everyone with power and authority in this society has conceded that our cause is just. We have had ‘sympathy’ from the UK Government through the Secretary of State, from all political parties that stood on our picket lines and from the leadership of the health service. But we have no resolution.
“UNISON has agreed emergency cover and our members have volunteered to provide it. We have never seen such determination in health workers who have been devalued and disrespected for almost 5 years. For 3 weeks they have stood up for their rights and have now put the health service at the top of the political agenda.
“Despite their sacrifice there is still no action from those in power. It would appear that health workers, patients and the public at large are being used as pawns in a political game.
“As we enter this significant period in the industrial struggle the consequences lay firmly on the shoulders of the UK Government, our elected politicians and the leadership of the civil service.”
