Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jun 05, 2025

Exhausted and struggling to pay bills, British nurses go on strike

Exhausted and struggling to pay bills, British nurses go on strike

Tens of thousands of nurses across England walked out of hospitals on Wednesday, on strike over low pay that they say leaves them struggling to cover their bills and extreme stress at work that has pushed many to the edge.
Nurses, like ambulance workers, train drivers, teachers, postal workers and employees in many other sectors, are taking industrial action in search of better pay and conditions as inflation tops 10% while their wages rise much more slowly.

"This job is slowly killing nurses," said David Hendy, a 34-year old nurse joining around 100 others on the picket line outside University College London Hospital.

That was one of dozens of protests taking place as part of strikes by the Royal College of Nursing - the second wave of its industrial action, having walked out en masse for the first time in its 100-year history in December.

“The nursing workforce in the last 10 years has been through hell and back. We've got through COVID, I've got colleagues who died from COVID. I myself have had it three times,” Hendy said, holding back tears. "Morale is rock bottom."

The government has so far resisted pressure to meet nurses' demands for a discussion about pay, insisting it will not revisit the 4%-5% it awarded in 2022/23 on the recommendation of a pay review body, and will only discuss the pay review process for 2023/24.

Health minister Steve Barclay told reporters during a visit to a hospital on Wednesday he was disappointed by the strikes and that meeting nurses' pay demands would be unaffordable.

"We want to work constructively with the trade unions in terms of this coming year's pay review process, recognising the pressures of inflation and recognising the pressures on the (National Health Service)," he said.

Others on the picket line echoed Hendy's concerns, stressing that the dispute was about more than just pay.

"The workload is phenomenal now and our patients are more sicker than they’ve ever been," said Victoria Banerjee, 44, a mother of two teenagers who has been a nurse for 20 years.

Nevertheless, with inflation at 10.5% according to data released on Wednesday, and food and drink prices rising at the fastest rate since 1977, pay still sits at the heart of the protest.

"We’ve been struggling over the last few years. Definitely bills are going up and our pay is not reflecting that," said Jenny Gyertson, 42, who has worked as a nurse for two decades.

"You’re basically living month to month. If something goes wrong, like the car breaks, or the boiler breaks or there's an unexpected bill, it's very, very difficult and it's very stressful."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
Hungary Partners with China to Boost Electric Vehicle Production
‘Vibe Coding’ Emerges as the New DIY Trend
AI Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Warns Models Can Deceive Users
Big Four Firms Rush to Create AI Auditing Systems
Musk’s xAI Pursues $113 Billion Valuation in New Share Sale
Walmart Increases Revenue Despite Shrinking Workforce
Hims & Hers Plans UK and EU Launch of Replica Obesity Drugs
Toyota to Acquire Supplier in $33 Billion Buyout
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
×