Both sides made it clear that the first detailed pay negotiations since nurses began striking in December offer a real prospect that the growing campaign of industrial action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), and the disruption it is bringing for NHS services, could soon be at an end.
One Whitehall source said: "We welcome that these talks are happening and hope that we get to a fair and reasonable deal. It has to be something that works for both sides."
The RCN called off a 48-hour stoppage it planned to hold in England next week - involving nurses refusing to work in A&E and intensive care units for the first time - after the health secretary, Steve Barclay, agreed yesterday to hold face-to-face talks with its general secretary, Pat Cullen, on nurses' pay for the first time since 9 January. However, it is unclear if the talks will involve nurses' pay in 2022-23, 2023-24 or both.
Until now, the RCN has said it would only call off its strikes if Barclay raised the £1,400-a-head award he imposed on all NHS staff except doctors and dentists, which equates to a rise of about 4% for most nurses.
But Rishi Sunak and Barclay have made clear that the government would not budge on its determination not to reopen that settlement, despite health unions' insistence that the flat rate was too low, given inflation has regularly been at over 10% over the past year. Both the Labour administration in Wales and the SNP government in Scotland have offered NHS staff much more.
For the talks to produce a breakthrough, either the RCN or Barclay would have to perform a major U-turn on their previous positions.
Esta historia es de la edición February 22, 2023 de The Guardian.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 22, 2023 de The Guardian.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Beaumont may step in at RFU if Ilube quits over pay fiasco
Sir Bill Beaumont could be parachuted into the Rugby Football Union as interim chair in the event Tom Ilube falls on his sword amid the botched handling of the executive pay scandal engulfing the game.
'An exciting new era' Everton owners promise return to glory days after £500m deal
The Friedkin Group vowed to restore Everton to their \"rightful place in the Premier League table\" after completing a takeover that brought the turbulent era of Farhad Moshiri to an end.
Friedkin Group brings hope of much-needed stability and ambition
The Friedkin Group's takeover of Everton represents a momentous day for those exhausted and resigned to calamity by the tenure of Farhad Moshiri.
A humble Hamilton hero who was born to score
Ex-coaches in New Zealand on Chris Wood's rise from selfless schoolboy to poster boy at Nottingham Forest
Solanke puts Spurs through despite Forster's blunders
Like a song that changes time signature for the hell of it, like a friend that inexplicably blanks you, like a match report that noodles away for ages instead of just telling you what happened, Tottenham Hotspur remain medically incapable of doing things the simple way.
“The World Cup loss fuelled a fire in me to become the best’
Ellie Kildunne's infectious enthusiasm for the women's game has her dreaming of a Twickenham final in 2025
'Usyk is fighting for his country': Dubois tips Fury to lose rematch
Daniel Dubois, the IBF world heavyweight champion, believes that Oleksandr Usyk will again defeat Tyson Fury in Riyadh tomorrow night.
Coe pledges radical reform in bid for IOC presidency
Sebastian Coe has promised to radically transform the International Olympic Committee if he is elected its next president in March - and says his track record of delivering at the London 2012 Games and at World Athletics shows he is the right choice for the leading job in sport.
Football's new fetish Forget Nicolas Jover and stylish set-piece coaches, bring on the directors of vibes
It's 25 October 2012. Those of you who follow the Austrian regional leagues won't need reminding.
Rush to start work caused enormous cost overruns, says new boss of HS2
Enormous budget overruns on the HS2 high-speed railway have been blamed by its new chief executive on a \"rush to start\", as the Department for Transport admitted it did not know what the line would cost.
