NURSES: TALK TO US, RISHI, WE DON’T WANT TO BREAK THE BANK

Union leader appeals directly to Prime Minister to negotiate compromise pay deal

- Sam Lister

THE leader of Britain’s nurses’ union has called on Rishi Sunak to personally negotiate a compromise pay deal that she insisted ‘won’t break the bank’.

Pat Cullen yesterday made a passionate plea for the PM to intervene in the dispute for the sake of hundreds of thousands of nurses feeling ‘totally abandoned and let down’.

As nurses take strike action for a second time

today, the Royal College of Nursing general secretary said she would drop everything to hold proper talks to settle the industrial action.

But while Ms Cullen said she is willing to compromise on behalf of her 320,000 nurses that took part in the ballot, she warned the Government must give ground too.

Speaking to the Daily Express on the eve of the strike, she said: “I believe this sits now at the Prime Minister’s door.

“The only person that can actually resolve this for our nursing staff is the Prime Minister and he needs to step up now.

“He’s under pressure from his own party, with more and more of his own party coming out and speaking up for the profession.

“I want to make a direct appeal to the Prime Minister to actually start to engage.

“I think he does owe that to the people of this country because you can see that people are perplexed about this.”

Ms Cullen said she would be “at his door” within half an hour if the Prime Minister wanted to resolve the situation.

Mr Sunak yesterday insisted the Government is acting “reasonably” and said “our door is always open”.