THE Danish government was poised to intervene to impose an already rejected pay deal on nurses today and order the end of strike action that began in June.

The Social Democrat government said it would order the end of the strike on Saturday and award nurses a 5 per cent pay increase over three years, a deal accepted by nurses’ union leaders in March but then rejected by members.

Nurses who work for the Danish Regions, a government employer which manages Denmark’s health care system, argued they have been underpaid for years.

Emergency and Covid care has continued, but a backlog of 35,500 delayed operations has built up as bosses deny nurses a better deal.

The opposition Liberal Party said it would support state action to suppress the strike, though unions struck a defiant tone, with multiple trade unions in North Jutland staging a solidarity rally yesterday and providing pizza and beer for striking health workers.