In pictures: NHS nurses strike for better pay - powerful images of picket lines in Liverpool
Nurses across Liverpool participated in the biggest strike in NHS history.
NHS nurses in Merseyside took part in another day of strike action on Tuesday as up to 100,000 nursing staff in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales took to the picket line for a second time in a week.
Royal College of Nursing members have walked out in protest against pay and patient safety. The union have said if the government fails to respond within 48 hours of Tuesday’s strike ending, they’ll announce further strike dates for January.
Nursing staff began strike action on December 15, but Health Secretary Steve Barclay failed to open pay negotiations following the first strike. The RCN is calling for a pay rise of 19.2%, but ministers have deemed this amount unaffordable.
Despite the cold weather, nurses across Liverpool stood on picket lines in solidarity and powerful images were captured.
1. RCN strike
Nurses on the picket line outside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on December 20, 2022. Image: Annabel Lee-Ellis/Getty Images
2. LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 20: Nurses are seen on a picket line outside The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre on December 20, 2022 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. For the first time in its history, the Royal College of Nursing has called its members out on strike in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over pay and conditions. (Photo Annabel Lee-Ellis/Getty Images)
Nurses are seen on a picket line outside The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre on December 20, 2022. Image: Annabel Lee-Ellis/Getty Images
3. RCN strike
Nurses are seen on a picket line outside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on December 20, 2022. Image: Annabel Lee-Ellis/Getty Images
4. RCN strike
12 days of NHS sign. Image: Annabel Lee-Ellis/Getty Images