Tired and struggling to pay the bills, British nurses have gone on strike
LONDON, 18 January (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of nurses in England walked out of hospitals on Wednesday over low pay, leaving many of them struggling to pay their bills and extreme stress at work.
Nurses, such as ambulance workers, train drivers, teachers, postal workers and workers in many other sectors, inflation 10%, they take industrial action in search of better pay and conditions, and their wages rise more slowly.
“This job is slowly killing nurses,” said David Hendy, a 34-year-old nurse who joined another on a picket line outside University College London Hospital. 10Joining 0 people.
It was one of dozens of protests held as part of the Royal College of Nursing strikes – in December 10The second wave of industrial action, the first mass walkout in its 0-year history.
“The nursing workforce has gone through hell and back in the last 10 years. We’ve been through COVID, I’ve had colleagues die from COVID. I myself have done it three times,” Hendi said, holding back tears. “Morality is at the bottom.”
The government has so far resisted pressure to meet nurses’ demands for a pay debate, insisting it will not revise the 4-5% pay review body’s recommendation in 2022/23 and will only discuss pay. Review process for 2023/24.
Health Minister Steve Barclay told reporters during a visit to the hospital on Wednesday that he was disappointed by the strikes and that it would be impossible to meet the nurses’ pay demands.
“We recognize the pressures of inflation and (National Health Service) this coming year, recognizing the pressures labour “We want to work constructively with the trade unions in terms of the salary review process,” he said.
Others on the picket line echoed Hendy’s concerns, stressing that the dispute is not just about pay.
20 “The workload is phenomenal now and our patients are sicker than ever,” said Victoria Banerjee, 44, a mother of two teenagers who works as a nurse.
Nevertheless, according to information released on Wednesday inflation 10.5% and fastest growing food and drink since 1977 pricesis still at the heart of the protest.
Jenny Gyertson, 42, a nurse for 20 years, said, “We’ve been struggling for the last few years. “The bills are definitely going up and our pay doesn’t reflect that,” he said.
“You’re basically living month to month. If something goes wrong, e.g. car it’s very, very difficult and very stressful if it breaks down, if the boiler breaks down or if there’s an unexpected bill.”
Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Ben Makori; Added by Kylie MacLellan report; Written by William James; Edited by Alison Williams
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
2023-01-20 08:32:30
Source – reuters
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