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Striking NHS Workers Deserve Our Support

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Unison2

SERTUC sends its solidarity greetings to union members working in the NHS who supported a four hour strike between 7am and 11am today, Monday 13 October. This is the first strike action by workers in the NHS over pay for 32 years. Union members took strike action today with great reluctance, but it demonstrates their exasperation with the unfair way they have been treated.

Nurses, paramedics, ambulance staff, therapists, cooks, cleaners, healthcare assistants, admin staff, occupational therapists, maintenance workers, porters, radiographers and midwives are in dispute with the government, seeking a modest below inflation pay rise of 1 per cent for all NHS staff, as was recommended by the Independent Pay Review Body.

Members of UNISON, UNITE, GMB, UCATT, the British Association of Occupational Therapists and the Royal College of Midwives were on strike this morning. Other unions that organise in the NHS will strike later this month, such as the Society of Radiographers, members of which will go on strike 20 October.

There are 4 campaigns days of action short of strike action between 14 and 17 October, when union members will do things such as take the breaks that they are entitled too, rather than work through them, as many usually do.

SERTUC visited the demonstrators at St Thomas’ Hospital this morning, where activists were upbeat, despite the dismal weather.

Rosie, from the Royal College of Midwives said “I delivered a baby this morning at 3.30am and now I am standing outside in the rain doing this. I will not forget today. I want to thank the public for all the support and understanding that it has offered us.” It is the first time in 133 years that members of the Royal College of Midwives have taken strike action.

Government claims to have protected the NHS are a sham, equivalent to saying that “you are lucky because I beat you less than I beat my other children”.

Institute for Fiscal Studies figures show that by 2018-19 health spending per head in real terms will be down by 9.1 per cent on 2010.

See end of bullet point 6 in the Summary of Chapter 2 of the IFS report  

The Financial Times reported, (9 September), that Office for Budget Responsibility figures reveal that by 2018-19 spending on public services will be the lowest proportion of GDP since 1938.

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