Staffing issues in our NHS must be resolved as a matter of priority now. How can our country come out and clap for NHS workers week after week and then turn their backs on them now they are virtually on their knees? After years of pay restraint; the horrendous pressures of Covid 19; the excess work caused by understaffing; and the overall feeling of low morale – is it surprising they are on their knees? It is time that as a country we all got behind a fight for better pay for NHS staff. But its also time more NHS and care staff joined a union.
In this video ex-nurse Helen O’Conner from the GMB urges NHS staff to join a union. Unions may have been disabled by successive Tory party governments – but they can and do still win important changes for workers. In Eastbourne the GMB recently had a fantastic victory over the Eastbourne Borough Council for our refuse workers who were taking industrial action. Despite anti-union rhetoric and lies being widely circulated by the council in the end the union won that battle.
Quite a few local people came out in support of the refuse workers. And if there was any industrial action by NHS or care workers in the town this campaign would support you in any way we could. We have done so before and we will do so again.
Staffing issues are not only crippling the workers but they are placing patients at risk. We all need this crisis in staffing to be resolved. But first of all we need workers to join unions wh are best equipped to organise a campaign for better pay and working conditions.
Please at least watch this video.
