NHS workers demand 15% now!

Hundreds of NHS workers, particularly nurses, took part in a series of protests for pay equality in Scotland on Saturday August 8. 

Nurses and other health care staff organised in the rapidly assembled ‘NHS workers say no! to public sector pay inequality’  group organised protests across the UK to highlight the fact that while other public sector workers had received a pay boost from Westminster, nurses, who have been on the frontline fighting against the deadly virus for the months of lockdown, have inexplicably been excluded.

Furthermore, the group points out that, when inflation is considered, nurses and other NHS staff have suffered a pay cut of up to 20% over the last decade of austerity.

Below we carry reports of the events in Inverness and Glasgow which Socialist Party Scotland members took part in and supported. 

Glasgow

Around 700 health nurses and health workers rallied to Glasgow Green for the protest on Saturday. The homemade banners summed up the mood of anger among NHS workers at the lack of any action over pay. “NHS workers are for life and not just for Covid-19”, Boris is a Baw Bag”, “Give nurses the reward they deserve”, “Who saved you, Boris?”, “Covid hero pay rise zero”

There is huge and palpable anger over the sanctimonious words of praise from politicians for the NHS during the pandemic and the refusal to deliver real pay increases.

The Tories and Boris Johnson were in the firing line, but the Scottish government – led by the SNP – were also criticised. As one nurse who came to the Socialist Party Scotland stall told us: “I’ve stopped by direct debit to the SNP, they are just not left wing enough. They have let us down.” 

Socialist Party Scotland’s stall was very busy throughout the day. We called for the NHS unions to lead a struggle for the 15% pay rise, which was a central demand of the protests, an end to cuts and for socialist policies to tackle the widening inequality and the economic crisis in the wake of the pandemic. 

37 copies of the Socialist were sold and £100 raised in donations for the Fighting Fund. Many hundreds of leaflets were handed out to those taking part. All in all it was an inspiring example of the potential to build a fighting movement to turn the tide against pay cuts, austerity and the capitalist crisis. 

Inverness

Around 200 nurses, NHS workers and supporters joined a socially distanced protest in the centre of Inverness on Saturday to demand a 15% pay rise for NHS staff following the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

The protest, known locally as Inverness Action for NHS Pay Justice, coincided with similar actions across the UK. The organisers were local nurses, and the protests were not coordinated by trade unions. Prior to the protest, organiser Mary Dawson was featured in the BBC Highland news bulletin.

Fellow organiser Louise Maclean, a nurse, was interviewed for the Press and Journal. Organisers highlighted the fact that with the exception of GMB, who received praise for their show of solidarity. Other unions were noticeable by their absence, including Unison and the RCN (Royal College of Nurses).

Socialist Party Scotland, who provided support to the organisers in the week leading up to the protest, were the only political group in attendance. 

The demo began with a rendition of You’ll Never Work Alone, by the Highland voices choir which had been chosen as an anthem for all of the protests. Then a rally of various speakers and poignant written testimonies was held including the typical experiences of nurses as they strive to provide the best possible care for patients despite having a metaphorical hand tied behind their back by health austerity.

An emotive two-minute silence was held for the NHS staff and patients who have lost their lives during the pandemic. Then followed a rendition of highland cathedral, while participants laid roses at the foot of the statue in Falcon square to remember those we have lost.

In this rally, in addition to the nurses, Socialist Party Scotland’s Highland branch was honoured to be given the opportunity to speak. Linking the struggle for decent pay for nurses to the wider fight against austerity, Sean Robertson spoke about the need to build a mass campaign to fight back against low pay, cuts and capitalism. A video of Sean’s speech can be found here

Over the weekend, the demo gained more press attention and featured on BBC Scotland’s online news section. The BBC’s report of the Scottish protests is here 

Following the protest,  In the Press and Journal, Louise Maclean said:

“We had no idea how it would turn out but it was an incredible day actually……We had the nurses speaking and they did themselves so proud. They stepped up, out of their comfort zone for public speaking and highlighted about the 20% wage cuts since 2010 and also about their worries for patient safety.”

“We have all stepped up. We have all been asked to work out with our different comfort zones and work in different areas we haven’t been trained on but everybody has come together.

“We know there is going to be a second wave so I think not giving them a pay rise but asking them to go in when we have reduced numbers of PPE, it’s just a bit of a slap in the face from the government that we are having put our lives at risk.”

Socialist Party Scotland would like to send our congratulations to the organisers and their colleagues and supporters for pulling together a fantastic event, which was moving in terms of the solidarity on display and has every chance of acting as a springboard for a successful campaign for a 15% pay rise for NHS staff, which is so badly needed. The fight goes on!