Nurses need more than just clapping
THERE are some people you want on your side when the proverbial hits the fan and I would suggest nurses are high on that list. All lives are in their hands, always.
They were there for us during the Covid-19 pandemic. We stood on our balconies and doorsteps to applaud them for their bravery and dedication during a time of national emergency, when most of us were hiding away safely indoors.
How ungrateful must our NHS nurses think we all are for their sacrifices when, for the first time in 106 years, they have been pushed to breaking point and have decided to walk off the job they love.
They must love it since – pay rise or not – they ain’t doing it for the cash and benefits.
But strike they will unless they get a decent pay rise. They are asking for 5% above inflation, which sounds like a lot but not when you consider a senior nurse’s salary has 20% less buying power now than in 2010.
I don’t believe in strikes, never have. I don’t think there are ever winners but there are always plenty of losers, no matter what the outcome
But the very fact that this group who routinely put their health on the line to save others have decided they have no option but to down bedpans and bandages tells me all I need to know.
Pushed
They have been pushed over the edge, publicly thanked for their Covid service then abandoned when the virus-storm has passed. No wonder they are angry and prepared to go on strike.
This sentiment is echoed loud and clear in the weasel words of Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who has expressed gratitude for the “hard work and dedication” of nurses, but also his “deep regret” that they have voted to strike.
The only thing the minister got right was when he said that a strike across the NHS this winter “isn’t inevitable”.
Too bloody right, Barclay! Pay the nurses a halfdecent wage and they would be sure to call off their action in a flash.
People say nurses (and other NHS workers) “deserve” better pay, and undoubtedly they do.
But right now they also really need it – and the Government needs to give it them.
And don’t give me any of that rubbish about setting a precedent for others to follow. This is a special case to up the money of a group that will always be underpaid.
All they want is to be underpaid a little less, so they can go back to caring for the rest of us ingrates.