"I could earn the same at Aldi": Nurse explains why she's striking this weekend - but thinks hospitals will cope

A nurse going on strike at a Greater Manchester hospital this weekend has slammed the pay for her profession — claiming she could earn a similar amount at a budget supermarket without the same level of stress.

She also explained that, despite concerns in other parts of the country, the strike is not expected to cause havoc in Greater Manchester. The Royal College of Nursing union is staging a walkout from 8pm on Sunday to 11.59pm on Monday (May 1) at Tameside Hospital, The Christie, and the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan.

It’s the latest industrial action in a dispute over pay, but nurses from other unions have accepted the government’s offer, so have returned to work.

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It leaves the RCN as the only nursing union left on strike, although it is the largest nursing union in the country. One member who works at an accident and emergency department in Greater Manchester has explained why she is going on strike.

“Unfortunately a lot of people and a lot of my colleagues voted to reject the offer because there’s a massive link between fair pay for nurses and patient safety,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “At the moment, it’s not attractive enough for people to come to the job.

“You can earn the same at Costa or Aldi — and when you go home, you’re finished. You do not have to worry about patients.

The unattractive nature of nursing has also been recognised by Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, a membership body for organisations that commission and provide services across the NHS, this morning (April 29).

He told BBC Breakfast: “We have 120,000-plus of vacancies in the health service. We have been waiting for years