'I think for the future it is vitally important': Nurses strike again in Eastbourne

Some Nurses in Eastbourne took to a picket line outside the DGH today (Tuesday, February 7) following previous industrial action on January 18-19.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said its members on NHS Agenda for Change contracts voted to take strike action at employers in all parts of the UK.

An RCN spokesperson said the group is hoping to ‘rectify the years of real-terms pay cuts that are pushing people out of the nursing profession and putting patient safety at risk’.

They added: “The RCN’s pay position is clear. We expect to see a pay award that goes five per cent above inflation (the retail prices index).”

Donato Tallo, who is a senior regional officer for the RCN in the south east, said the fact nurses have had to strike again is ‘incredibly disappointing’.

He added: “I think at the moment nobody wants to be doing this again. Doing this is making people really tired. People were hoping for some kind of decision [by now].

“We are hearing on the East Sussex picket lines in Eastbourne and at the Conquest that residents are really in support of us. They are right behind the nurses, they want something to change. They can see the pressure that nurses are under.”

Mr Tallo said the fact nurses are again sacrificing money shows just how passionate they are about seeing change.

The full-time union worker explained: “I think for the future it is vitally important.

“Nobody should come home feeling sad and feeling like they haven’t done their best when it is not their fault. That has to change.”

No future strike dates have been confirmed yet.

Mr Tallo said: “It does look like we will be left with no voice which is incredibly disappointing.

“Nobody wants to be doing that.”

Mr Tallo also explained that a lot of the nurses are from the local area.

He added: “People want to see change for their own communities.

“People don’t want to be here and be striking but they feel that they have been left with absolutely no choice.”

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