NHS workers in Wales have said they need real support, not claps from the government as many people are set to return to Thursday night clapping in the latest lockdown.
In a statement released yesterday, NHS Workers Say NO Wales, a group of nurses and other health workers behind a major campaign for a 15% pay rise across the health service, say they “asking for support and not claps.”
Many health workers say they are struggling to live on low pay despite working flat out to fight Covid, with many sliding into debt as a result of not having enough money to pay for food and bills.
“Thank you for your ongoing love and appreciation,” the group of workers say to the public. “It gives so many of our NHS workers the boost they need to continue.” But they state that what they need now is “solidarity and support” to save the NHS and support workers.
The group say they have been watching the debate over the return of Thursday night clapping in Wales with interest, but they are asking people to take part by holding banners or signs, or place one in their window where a rainbow once sat, “showing our Prime Minister that claps do not pay our bills.”
The leaders of the campaign, all workers in the NHS in Wales who have been at the frontline of the pandemic, and some of whom work in ICU or caught Coronavirus, say the public support and “outpouring of love” that people showed them through the claps was “tremendous,” but now ask that the public focus their efforts on winning a much needed pay rise for exhausted workers.
“Please show your real appreciation for NHS staff by helping us get this crucial pay rise,” they say, adding that workers have given all that they can to save lives.
The fight for fair pay
Many health workers are angry at the way they have been treated by successive governments when it comes to pay, with unions estimating that they have faced a 20% wage cut in 10 years.
The anger- which is directed mainly at the Tory government in Westminster because they have most spending power – has turned into something of a movement among workers, with protests, workplace campaigns and even the talk of strike action.
Specifically, they are demanding a 15% pay rise across the health service, and the experience of the last year – fighting an unprecedented pandemic – has made many determined to fight for it.
The campaign was started by a Facebook page originated by a group of workers out of a hospital in London, and snowballed from there.
A series of demonstrations across Britain took place across the summer, with nurses and other health workers starting to organise among themselves, sometimes independently of their unions.
As part of this wave of protests, events were held in Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff and Merthyr in July, involving hundreds of workers and their supporters. Flowers were laid for their colleagues who had died from the virus, while powerful speeches rallied people to fight for fair pay.
This led some unions to officially back the 15% pay campaign. Another day of action that was planned in early Autumn was called off due to rising Coronavirus cases, but online events were held instead. Now people are being encouraged to wear badges at work pledging support for the campaign and to write to the independent pay review body.
“Some workers are relying on food banks.”
The Tory chancellor Rishi Sunak recently tried to quell NHS workers’ anger by announcing a pay rise at the last budget, but the amount won’t be set until the spring and is likely to be around 3% or lower.
“I feel like it’s an attempt to just keep us happy,” one ICU nurse told voice.wales in December. “It’s insulting to the work we do and the dangers we face daily dealing with Covid….we need a wage that keeps up with the cost of living and makes up what we have lost over the past 10 years.”
Another nurse from Merthyr Tydfil described the pay offer as a kick in the teeth: “You know, people are reliant on food banks, and NHS staff, a lot of them are bringing home very small amounts of pay.”
The NHS itself is under threat as more nurses become demoralised and less join the profession, something many nurses worry about.
During the three weeks in the run up to Christmas, one nurse who is leading the NHS Workers Say NO Wales campaign, said she worked between 48 and 60 hours a week, simply because she didn’t want her children to go without at Christmas. It was the same for lots of her colleagues, she said.
“It breaks my heart to think that people who are in full time employment can’t afford Christmas comfortably…,” she told this website. “Not even gifts for other people, but for their own children.”
The situation is such that they are now calling on the public to get behind them and not just clap, but specifically target Prime Minister Boris Johnson with demands for a pay rise for NHS workers now.
“As NHS workers in Wales, we can’t fight this campaign alone,” one of the nurses involved said. “There is strength in numbers. And I truly do believe that we need to stand together and fight for what’s right. And not just for us, but for everybody across the board.”
For more information on the campaign or to get involved, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/284604296195934/?ref=share
