UK Health Secretary Barclay expected to urge fresh talks aimed at ending health strikes – The Guardian

“The (UK) health secretary, Steve Barclay, is expected to contact health unions to urge fresh talks aimed at averting further strikes, amid new warnings that more action could put patients in danger,” reported The Guardian during the weekend.

Key quotes

It comes as No 10 rejected a proposal to give nurses a one-off lump-sum payment in an attempt to end the industrial action, one of the measures Barclay had suggested as a compromise in crunch Whitehall meetings last week.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) hinted it would be open to discussing a lump-sum payment, though warned that there could be no “political quick fixes”. 

Treasury sources had told the Observer that ministers were immovable on pay and would stick to the recommendation from the pay review body, but could potentially look at ways to give staff more money through one-off payments.

But that is understood to have been ruled out, and Whitehall sources said Barclay had accepted that would not go ahead, with health sources saying it had only been mooted as one of a range of policy options.

GBP/USD retreats

Although the news appears positive on the face, the details are murky and hence exert downside pressure on the GBP/USD price, around 1.2160 by the press time.

Also read: GBP/USD bulls are guarding 1.1950 and eye 1.22s