Ulrika Jonsson took a swipe at Luisa Zissman after she criticized NHS workers who plan to strike for wages.
The 35-year-old former Apprentice star called those planning to strike “cruel” and said staff should never have entered the profession if they were concerned about wages.
Writing in his column for SunUlrika said Luisa’s comments were ‘ruthless’ as she praised the nurses for the work they do.
Speaking: Ulrika Jonsson took a swipe at Luisa Zissman after she criticized NHS workers who plan to strike over pay
She wrote: ‘Zissman’s comments about nurses are not only extraordinarily ruthless, but also show irreproachable ignorance.
“Sometimes you have to wonder if some people aren’t completely lacking in intelligence and empathy.”
Ulrika said that being a nurse required ‘dedication’ and no one who chooses it as a career does so for the money.
While she doesn’t like the planned strike, Ulrika said she likes it even less that ‘top accountants’ get six-figure salaries while bottom ones ‘are up against the wall’.
Opinion: The former Apprentice star, 35, has called those planning to strike “cruel” and said staff should never have entered the profession if they were concerned about wages.
Ulrika added: “She won’t care what I or anyone else thinks of her comments, which is why, thank goodness, there will never be a Zissman nurse.”
It comes after Luisa criticized NHS workers who plan to strike over wages, calling them “irresponsible”, “cruel” and “jumpy”.
He argued that they knew full well what they would gain and that they should resign and ‘do something else’, rather than go on strike.
The businesswoman added that she would never have considered working for the NHS because “the money is not enough” and “it does not give enough.”
Ulrika said: “Zissman’s comments about nurses are not only extraordinarily heartless, but show irreproachable ignorance.”
Speaking on her LuAnna podcast for co-host Anna Williamson, Luisa said: “When you’re in this industry, it’s completely irresponsible to go on strike and put people’s lives at risk.” Sorry, it’s unacceptable.
‘You have a child who is waiting for a transplant and that child doesn’t get that heart because of some fucking shit.
I’m sorry, but you chose. When you entered that profession, you did not go blind. You know what that pay is for that profession.
‘Every profession has a salary, an account, a teacher… So don’t go into that then.’
Let her say: Luisa argued that they knew very well what they would gain and that they should resign and ‘do something else’, instead of going on strike.
She continued: “Don’t go in willing to take that payment and then say ‘actually, I don’t want to do it anymore because of the payment.'”
“If you’re not satisfied with the pay the job offers, do a different fucking job than the compensation.”
The ministers plan to recruit up to 600 members of the Armed Forces to deal with the series of pre-Christmas strikes planned by the unions.
More than 200,000 nurses, ambulance workers and hospital staff could walk out at the same time after voting for a consecutive strike over wages and conditions.
Senior experts warned last week that fears of the NHS suffering its worst winter on record are “quickly coming true”.
Opinion: The former Apprentice star, 35, said staff should never have entered the profession if they were worried about wages
But Luisa has little sympathy for the staff members who threaten to leave, saying she would never have considered entering the profession knowing the wages on offer, adding that the wage increase the unions are demanding (17.6 percent) is not realistic.
Luisa, co-owner of the Silly Sentiments gift company, said: “I wouldn’t do that job because I wouldn’t be happy to work for that amount.”
“I wouldn’t go into that job in the first place, so don’t, you know what the pay is. He screwed me.
‘I give my staff annual salary evaluations for what we do. It’s not common, it’s not a legal or necessary requirement to do that, it’s ridiculous.
‘That’s not a normal thing to have, it’s just what people would ideally want. I’m not saying it’s right that they should or shouldn’t have it.
Taking action: More than 200,000 nurses, ambulance workers and hospital staff could strike at the same time after voting for a consecutive strike over wages and conditions.
‘Screwed me over. Just don’t do that job then wages would naturally go up because they would have to do a recruiting drive because the services would be fighting so they would have to pay more to get people to do the job but when you already have people doing it or they have done…
“It just annoys me that people go on strike in this kind of race, I think it’s really irresponsible and cruel and goes against everything they should be doing in that industry.
‘You go into it because you really care, I would say. You don’t get into that job for the money.
“A, the money isn’t enough for me and, B, I don’t give enough, but the people who go into that job really give a shit and want to make a difference.”
Strikes: This map shows the hospitals where the Royal College of Nursing will hold its first strikes over wages on Thursday 15th and Tuesday 20th December.
However, the former Celebrity Big Brother star reckons NHS staff deserve a pay rise if their workload has increased substantially.
She added: ‘If you work more, you should be paid more. If your job is bigger.
“I support the fact that they should be paid more if they’re working more and more, and if that’s happening, they shouldn’t have to go on strike to get a pay raise, they should have a pay raise.
They deserve more pay. What they do is save lives, they have one of the most important jobs in the country.’
Couple: Luisa is married to Irish billionaire businessman Andrew Collins, marrying in 2015, a year after Andrew proposed to her with a £1.4m eight-carat diamond ring during a romantic dinner at the candlelight in Paris.
Luisa is married to Irish billionaire businessman Andrew Collins, marrying in 2015, a year after Andrew proposed to her with a £1.4m eight-carat diamond ring during a romantic dinner by light candles in paris
The couple share two daughters, Indigo and Clementine, while Luisa has another daughter, Dixie, from a previous marriage to Oliver Zissman.
Her husband is worth £39 million and he met Luisa at a charity auction in 2014 where he offered £3,000 to be in her company.
Negotiations: The Royal College of Nursing is demanding a 19.2 per cent pay rise for its members, saying the devastating NHS strikes will continue unless ministers enter into “formal wage negotiations”.