LONDON (AP) — Britain’s 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’ 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 “with regret, to protect nurses by ensuring they are not asked to take part in an unlawful strike.”
Royal College of Nursing General Secretary Pat Cullen said the union would end its strike at midnight on Monday, but that nurses would be “angered” by the ruling. And she warned that “it may even make them more determined to vote in next month’s reballot for a further six months of action.”