NHS and health

Junior doctors strike again 11-15 April

British Medical Assocation (BMA) activist Grace Allport spoke to Solidarity . The first round of strikes [13-15 March] was fantastic. At my hospital [in Wigan] we had a good turnout on strike, and probably 30 pickets out of about 200 junior doctors. There was positive energy and morale stayed high. We had visits from other trade unionists and some strikers went on the big cross-union demo in Manchester, with good feedback. We also had strong support from the public. Our clear core message is that doctors are not worth less than they were in 2008 [the BMA demand is for a clear timetable for...

NHS: reject the pay offer, organise to escalate

The result of the government negotiations with the RCN, Unison, GMB, Unite and CSP on behalf of health workers on Agenda for Change contracts in England was announced on 16 March - a one off taxed payment for 2022-23 between £1655 and £3789 increasing by pay band, and 5% for 2023-24. The health unions will run online member consultations on the offer in the next few weeks. RCN and Unison from 28 March -14 April, GMB from 3 April and Unite 31 March to 28t April. RCN, Unison and GMB are recommending the offer, and Unite will not make a recommendation. Over the preceding months the government had...

How doctors are organising

Manchester-based junior doctor and British Medical Association (BMA) activist Grace Allport spoke to us about junior doctors’ strikes over pay. Here we publish some more from the discussion. I work in Wigan. I started my activity with the BMA as a medical student at Manchester University, which was a good place to get involved because it was quite a political campus and a very big one in terms of medical students. That meant we also sent big delegations to the medical students conference and the ARM [Annual Representative Meeting, the BMA’s national conference]. After graduating I sat on the...

NHS Workers Say No issue "vote no" leaflet

The NHS Workers Say No! group has put out a leaflet calling on health workers to vote no to the current offer and organise for renewed industrial action at a higher tempo. Click here for the PDF

Legal regulation of drugs

I am sure many supporters of Workers’ Liberty would agree with John Smithee’s sensible call ( Solidarity 665 ) for legal regulation of all drugs. Drug-taking is a victimless crime and prohibition causes all manner of social harm, not least ceding a multi-billion pound world market to organised crime. Many non-addictive and relatively harmless drugs, like psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA, are illegal whereas alcohol and tobacco are highly addictive and very harmful. There is some evidence that humans have taken mind-altering substances since the Stone Age and like music or dance it appears common...

Why junior doctors are striking

From 13 March tens of thousands of junior doctors in England, members of the British Medical Association (BMA), will strike over pay. Manchester-based BMA activist Grace Allport spoke to Solidarity . Our first strike starts early on Monday 13 March and ends early on Thursday 16th. We’re asking all junior doctors – all qualified doctors in training or similar – to strike. There are 56,000 junior doctors in the BMA in England, out of 183,000 BMA members in total – though of course some members won’t strike and some non-members will. Come and join us on the picket lines! Junior doctors are mostly...

Health pay: break the pause!

The strikes over pay for Agenda for Change (i.e. most) NHS employees in England are paused for negotiation. After the RCN cancelled their strikes in England at the beginning of March to go into unilateral negotiations, Unison, GMB, CSP and then Unite called off their planned action to join too. The government preconditions for negotiations with these unions were: cancellation of strikes; any uplift for 2022-23 would be a one-off unconsolidated payment; the talks to cover 2023-24 pay and “efficiency” reforms; and any offer coming from the negotiations to be recommended by trade unions to their...

Strike to save the NHS!

The past few months have seen the biggest strikes by nurses in the history of the NHS. The RCN began its action in December, though has (at the time of writing) suspended action around negotiations. Unison, GMB and Unite have called out paramedics. Meanwhile, the BMA’s thumping victory in its national ballot has brought Junior Doctors into the dispute. As in the broader strike wave, pay is the core issue of the dispute. With inflation soaring, and after more than a decade of pay cuts, nurses were awarded a miserable £1,400 for 2022-23. This situation, combined with the wider crisis in the NHS...

Tax the rich to refloat the NHS

Official statisticians have reported that the government has borrowed £30 billion less than projected in the 12 months to January 2023. That’s down to world-market gas prices abating, the recession being shallower (so far) than many (including us) feared, and receipts from taxes from the well-off holding up well. To increase public service pay rises for 2022-3 to 10% would cost the government only £8.5 billion , if we factor in recouping from taxes on the raised wages. Compare: £30 billion. £8.5 billion. The government insists that such rises would raise the base for pay for future years, and...

Junior Doctors strengthen NHS fight!

The BMA junior doctors have announced strikes from 7am 13 March to 7am 16 March, following a 98% vote for strikes on a 77% turnout. The new potential for all the health unions to co-ordinate, including the BMA, must increase pressure on the government both on pay and on rescuing the NHS. Unions have called ambulance strikes on 6 and 20 March. Unison has called a strike in ambulance and other trusts on 8 March, and won additional mandates in trusts it reballoted. Christine McAnea, Unison’s General Secretary, has tweeted, “Talks alone won’t be enough to call off these [strikes]. We want to see...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.