Britain
Mass Rallies Put Forward Demands of Health Care Workers
On August 8, workers with Britain's National
Health Service (NHS) held physically-distanced marches to defend their
dignity and to speak out loud and clear that public sector pay
inequality is not acceptable. Their central demand was for a 15 per
cent increase in the level of pay that has been kept suppressed for a
decade. In more than 30
cities, towns and smaller communities in England, Scotland and Wales,
thousands of nurses and other NHS workers took to the streets in
protest against the government's refusal to offer a pay rise despite
their heroism during the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest protest took
place in London and involved a march on Downing Street that ended
with a rally. Workers fell silent for two minutes as a mark of respect
for colleagues who have lost their lives fighting Covid-19. Marchers
were applauded by members of the public as they were heading to Downing
Street and chants of "Boris Johnson hear us shout, pay us properly or
get out" were directed at No 10 which is the official residence
and the office of the British Prime Minister. Among the placards in the
various actions, there were some saying merely "540," the number of NHS
and care workers who have died from coronavirus.. Other placards read
"Covid hero, pay rise zero," "Stop giving nurses the clap," "From hero
to zero," "Nurses are for life, not just for lockdown,"
etc.
Statement of the Save South Tyneside Hospital
Campaign (SSTHC)
on the Occasion of the March
In preparation for the march, the SSTCH issued a
statement entitled " Statement of the Save South Tyneside Hospital
Campaign on the Nurses' Pay Upsurge."
It said:
"On Saturday, August 8, nurses and healthcare
workers, supported by health campaigners and many other supporters,
will hold a physically-distanced march from the Royal Victoria
Infirmary through Newcastle for a rally at the Monument. This is part
of nationwide protests by nurses and healthcare workers throughout the
country in some 30
cities and towns.
 "This follows on
from Wednesday, July 29, when
thousands of nurses and other care and health workers marched through
London to Downing Street demanding a wage rise and a stop to the
attacks on the NHS, with the organisers of the demonstration demanding
'No! to public sector inequality and pay justice.'
"Nurses and other health workers are speaking in
their own name and taking up the fight, both to improve their own pay,
and at the same time to take part in the struggle to safeguard the
future of the NHS and care services.
"Since the hypocrisy of Boris Johnson and the
government has been exposed in clapping health and care workers one day
and omitting them from a wage rise the next, nurses have been
expressing their anger on social media and in other forums. Now they
are taking to the streets, supported by doctors and others, in a series
of marches and
demonstrations.
"In our discussions, SSTHC highlighted statements
of very angry nurses that
showed it was not just about the pay but the whole neglect of the
welfare of all health staff. At the same time, they have had to endure
constant attacks on the NHS, increased privatisation, staffing cuts,
the cutting of student nurse bursaries and the promotion of
commercialisation being put above patient care. Also discussed was that
health workers
are struggling from the imposition of austerity, as are so many people,
both working and unemployed. Some health workers are having to use food
banks to eat, and struggling to pay their bills after years of
real-terms pay cuts finished off by a disastrous three-year low pay
deal that again left many more experienced nurses worse off. Nurses
have
lost as much as 20 per cent of their pay in real terms over the last 10
years.
This has driven many to leave, unable to endure the stress of
attempting to deliver patient care to the level they know should be
offered to all as a right.
"Right from the beginning, nurses, care workers
and others in many different groups have made it clear that they
support those in public service receiving a wage increase, and they
also know that many of these services are also being cut to fund
so-called 'wage rises.' They have also expressed opposition
to the Trade Bill and other attacks on
the NHS by the government. This is a government that has used the
COVID-19 crisis to further line the pockets of private health
monopolies and other private companies such as Serco and Deloitte,
whilst continuing with planned closures to hospitals and A&Es
(emergency departments), together with downgrading services throughout
the crisis.
These are services that are vital in delivering healthcare to the
people, the downgrading of which had resulted in many unnecessary
deaths.
"What this new upsurge of nurses and care workers
reflects is that what is being done to undermine their pay and
conditions and the NHS is certainly not in their name. As one
experienced nurse who had worked through the Covid-19 crisis put it in
our SSTHC discussion: 'The nurses and other care workers are now
speaking out in their
name for a new future that upholds and guarantees their well-being as
part of guaranteeing the right of all to healthcare at the highest
standard society can achieve. This is not some future dream. This is
what the authorities should address now, and nurses and healthcare
workers should be empowered to make the decisions in the future for a
new,
human-centred healthcare system for our NHS, our hospitals, our
community and mental health services, and our workplaces.'"
With the day of action, the health care workers
clearly expressed that the whole future direction of the NHS is at
stake, and there must be no return to the so-called "business as usual."
This article was published in
Number 54 - August 13, 2020
Article Link:
Britain: Mass Rallies Put Forward Demands of Health Care Workers
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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