10 years of pay cuts have left us with no choice but to strike

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Name

Jill Taylor

Union

CSP

Job title

Physiotherapist

Jill Taylor, 44, is a physiotherapist in the North East. She lives with her partner and has been working as a physio since 2000. She has recently voted to take strike action.

“I’m taking strike action because after 10 years of pay cuts and pay restraint we have been left with no choice as we are not being listened to. The last few years have been incredibly hard – physically, emotionally and mentally. Every shift is relentless, and it is not sustainable. We are always short of staff but at the same time with 'efficiency savings' we are under intense pressure to do more for less.

“We’ve got an ageing population who need care. The government rely on our good will to keep going – but even that has a limit. Why would anyone choose to work in the health service now? Failing to pay us fairly is causing more people to leave the NHS which is increasing current pressures and causing greater stress for those of us who remain.

“There’s an emotional sacrifice working in the health service too. You can’t go to work and be hard. You have to have empathy and be there for your patients and their families in their time of need. But everyone is fed up, understaffed shifts, cancelled surgeries, long waiting times to be seen – it’s an awful environment for everyone. NHS staff would never leave anyone at risk we are there 24 hours of every day, but now we are at the end of our tether and worn out.

“I belong to a small union, and we've only ever taken strike action once before – in 2011 over pensions – which shows the strength of feeling now.

"The cost of living is affecting me. I have to be so careful when I go out shopping, checking prices everywhere and going to more than one supermarket to make sure I'm getting the best offers.

“But it’s not just shopping, it’s the cost of petrol to actually get to a shift as well as the worry of being able to heat our home. My partner and I are both specialists in our clinical areas and have over 40 years’ service between us – we should not have to worry about these things. If we are how on earth are the lower paid NHS workers coping? Well, we know it’s with food banks and payday loans.

“This is a last resort for us and not somewhere any of us would like to be. I know I speak on behalf of all CSP members when I say that.”

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