- 08 January 2020
- 3 min read
Northern Ireland nurses walk out over again over pay
The escalating action follows a similar strike last month over salary and staffing levels.

Thousands of nurses in Northern Ireland have started another day of strike action in a row over pay.
The protest follows a similar strike last month over salary rates that lag behind colleagues in Great Britain, and staff shortages.
Thousands of hospital appointments are expected to be cancelled.
The Department of Health has urged trade unions to return to talks. They broke down without agreement in December, when a fresh 3.1% pay offer was rejected by unions.
Find Your Next Job on Nurses.co.uk
1000s of UK Nursing and Care Home Jobs. Updated all day, every day.
Find out moreThe Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is leading members away from patient bedsides on Wednesday and Friday, while members of Northern Ireland’s largest health workers’ union, Unison, will also stage walkouts on Friday.
Midwives are also being asked if they are willing to take strike action over pay.
Unions have called for pay parity with their colleagues in the rest of the UK.
The department’s permanent secretary, Richard Pengelly, has warned that hospitals are already under severe pressure.
Northern Ireland has some of the longest waiting lists for treatment in the UK, and the political paralysis at Stormont has hampered efforts to address problems in the NHS.

Numerous appointments and treatments have been cancelled and a number of services across hospitals and the community care sector have had to be stood down or reduced due to industrial action, health service providers said.
All emergency departments will remain open as normal, but they are under extreme pressure due to winter demand.
Reduced staffing levels on Wednesday and Friday will significantly affect the ability of the system to discharge patients and further compound pressures throughout hospital and community services, health and social care organisations said.
The South Tyrone Hospital Minor Injury Unit (MIU), Mid Ulster MIU and Bangor MIU will be closed on Wednesday.

Around 5,000 medical appointments were cancelled following the unprecedented nurses’ strike which paralysed parts of the NHS late last year.
Healthcare workers said they were tearful and “at the end of their tether”.
Stormont politicians stepped up efforts to restore devolved power-sharing and urged immediate action to address a “humanitarian” crisis in health.
Routine medical appointments were cancelled, minor injury units closed and there were delays to some ambulance responses.
Pickets formed across the region and thousands of nurses walked out in their first ever strike.
Related stories
• Stormont must fix Northern Ireland health crisis
• Thousands of Northern Ireland nurses stage 12-hour strike over pay
Nurses.co.uk editorial team
About the author
Nurses.co.uk editorial team
Bringing you a daily update of nursing, NHS, health and social care news from around the UK.
Want to get involved in the discussion
Sign In JoinRead something else
Covid-19 Didn’t Bring Retired Nurses Back – But It Is Highlighting A Deeper Problem
NHS England has revealed only 1,007 former nurses out of 71,000 returned to work last summer while Covid-sickness absence left hospitals with a net drop of 3,694 full-time nurses.
A Day In The Life Of A Student Nurse During The Pandemic
Student Nurse, Kyle, gives an insight into Student Nursing during the pandemic with a video diary outlining coursework, working from home and student cuisine.
What Band 5 Salary Nurses Get Paid In 2021 – And What You’ll Do To Earn It
The New Pay Deal for the NHS was signed in 2018 and ensured a minimum pay increase for all nurses at all bandings over the subsequent three years. Here’s what it means for Band 5 nurses.
Latest Jobs
Bank Endoscopy Nurse
Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
Spire Healthcare
Deputy Ward Manager
Maidstone, Kent, England
Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Registered Nurse
Stirling, Stirling, Scotland
Appoint Healthcare
Surgical Ward - Staff Nurse
London, Greater London, England
Jarrodean Healthcare Recruitment
Staff Nurse-Surge Ward
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Staff Nurse
London, Greater London, England
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
See all of our RGN jobs
5505 jobs currently available