愛污传媒

Skip to main content

In win for U.K. government, court nixes part of nurses' strike

Share
LONDON -

Britain鈥檚 High Court ruled Thursday that part of a strike by thousands of nurses planned for next week is illegal, handing a small victory to the government in its bitter dispute with public sector unions.

The court said a six-month strike mandate given to the Royal College of Nursing by a members鈥 vote expires at midnight on Monday and not, as the union argued, the following day. The union had planned to walk out for 48 hours starting at 8 p.m. (1900GMT) on Sunday. For the first time, the walkout will include nurses working in intensive care, emergency rooms and cancer wards.

Judge Thomas Linden ruled that the strike mandate expires at midnight on May 1.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay welcomed the ruling, and said the government had gone to court 鈥渨ith regret, to protect nurses by ensuring they are not asked to take part in an unlawful strike.鈥

Royal College of Nursing General Secretary Pat Cullen said the union would end its strike at midnight on Monday, but that nurses would be 鈥渁ngered鈥 by the ruling. And she warned that 鈥渋t may even make them more determined to vote in next month鈥檚 reballot for a further six months of action.鈥

Earlier this month members of the Royal College of Nursing rejected the government鈥檚 offer of a a lump sum payment for 2022-23 and a 5 per cent raise this year.

A months-long wave of public-sector strikes has disrupted schools, hospitals and services as workers seek pay hikes to offset inflation that stood at 10.1 per cent in March.

Firefighters, London bus drivers and some health care workers have reached deals to keep working. But many other professions remain locked in pay disputes. Ambulance crews, teachers, border staff, driving examiners, bus drivers and postal workers 鈥 as well as doctors and nurses 鈥 have all walked off their jobs to demand higher pay.

Unions say wages, especially in the public sector, have fallen in real terms over the past decade, and a cost-of-living crisis fueled by sharply rising food and energy prices has left many struggling to pay their bills.

Thousands of children stayed home from school Thursday as teachers in England and Northern Ireland walked out in their latest one-day strike. And train drivers announced new strikes that coincide with major public events, including the FA Cup soccer final at London鈥檚 Wembley Stadium on June 3.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Voting officials say recounts in two ridings that could determine the outcome of British Columbia's election won't start until Sunday afternoon.

The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.