Update from the Royal College of Nursing

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is committed to running a safe and effective strike. Nursing staff can achieve significant wins by both striking and maintaining patient safety. This means that whilst RCN members are supporting the strike from a picket line, others will be supporting the strike by being in their workplace providing essential patient care. An effective strike means that patient care is still provided and some RCN members will be required to do this.

Those on the picket line will understand that some members need to work as normal and in doing so are supporting an effective strike There are no issues with an RCN member crossing a picket line if they are going into their workplace to provide essential patient care. Picket lines will be in place to show the strength of RCN members’ feeling that they have withdrawn their labour, not to compromise patient safety.

We have confirmation of picket lines at the following sites:

• Maghull Health Park, School Lane, Maghull L31 1HW from 7am to 7pm
• Old Swan Walk-In Centre, St Oswalds Street, Old Swan L13 2GA from 8am to 8pm.

For staff working in services that have been granted derogations (exemption), if we do not meet the required staffing levels on the strike days, the RCN will contact members directly to advise them that a derogation has been agreed and they should work their rostered shift to maintain patient safety.

The full list of derogations will be available on the RCN website in due course.

Members are only affected within the set strike times 8am to 8pm. Those who are working shifts outside of these times should continue to provide patient care as normal.

General updates

• Please be reminded that all non-essential meetings on the days of strike action are to be cancelled
• Corporate staff who are currently hybrid working, please continue to work in this way and attend sites as per usual
• Guidance for students on placements will be shared with managers via the Practice Education Facilitators
• Our frequently asked questions have been updated here, please take some time read through the questions and responses carefully, as we are sharing lots of information.

HealthRoster and recording absence due to strike

The easiest and most efficient way to correctly record when a member of staff is away from work due to strike action, is to record this information on Healthroster. This needs to be logged within the “other leave” unavailability group and with a reason of “industrial action”

Right click on the day of the strike, select “add unavailability” and populate with the following group and reason codes.

If managers cannot input directly into HealthRoster, please collate the information as below and send directly to: eroster@merseycare.nhs.uk by close of play on the strike days.