1%? Up yours! – We need health workers’ and patients’ power! – Invitation for a meeting, March 11

[hitmouse]

Bump, the Nurses United thing at Javid's office from the post above is happening today.

 

[hitmouse]

NHS pay zoom meeting tonight:


I see Unite members in NHS Wales have voted for strike action, dunno who else has reached that point yet:

Unite Wales NHS members reject 3% pay increase and vote in favour of industrial action

…

www.unitetheunion.org

 

[Chilli.s]

And who can blame them.

 

[hitmouse]

NHS pay dispute from below – Online newsletter no.4

Striking health workers in Berlin The main healthcare unions have spent the last 6 weeks consulting their members on the 3% pay ‘rise’, which has now trickled into some workers’ September wage slip…

healthworkersunited.wordpress.com

The main healthcare unions have spent the last 6 weeks consulting their members on the 3% pay ‘rise’, which has now trickled into some workers’ September wage slip. While members who did vote overwhelmingly rejected the offer, across the board, turnout was very low – too low in all but some GMB Southern Region trusts to win a mandate for industrial action legally.


This was predictable. Even though staff are pissed off, they are not being spurred into self-activity, nor even actively demanding the union does something. Getting a higher turnout would have required an all- guns-blazing strategy of mobilisation from the unions, and there seemed to be only a few firecrackers going off!

...So what happens next? Only GMB is going ahead with a proper industrial ballot at this point. Despite not meeting the thresholds that would be needed to actually go on strike, all of the rest of the unions (aside from RCM) are pushing ahead with an indicative ballot for industrial action. This involves asking their members if they want to actually take industrial action – even though some of them already captured that data in their first ballot (Unison, Unite), or despite the fact that they could have asked in their first ballot (RCN). While unions might think they need all these ballots to ‘build momentum’, the more likely result is to lose it…And if we go on the efforts of their last ballot ‘engagement strategy’, there is nothing to indicate more people will vote this time round…


This article from a NHS trade unionist spells out why successful industrial action is unlikely under the current arrangements. Basically, in order to enforce a pay rise, we would need more coordinated action across the unions, which would mean common demands amongst a divided workforce – divisions that are perpetuated by the unions who are only interested in ‘their’ members. So where does that leave the huge anger amongst workers about the measly 3%?

 

[hitmouse]

Some more NHS stuff:
NHS Workers Say No things happening in London on Friday:


Sheffield healthworkers now have a local cross-union bulletin:

Sheffield Healthworker

Sheffield Healthworker's writing at Notes From Below.

notesfrombelow.org

 

[hitmouse]

Probably worth a thread of its own, but there's a new book by NHS workers coming out soon, launch event in London on July 9th:

Sick of It All! Work, Enquiry and Struggle in the NHS

Book launch and discussion about healthcare struggles, past and present in the NHS.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

 

[LDC]

Facebook page for the book here, they'll be some talks and discussion on issues it raises popping up in the events bit at some point apparently (as well as the London one above), including at the Bradford and London Anarchist Bookfairs.

PM Press will be doing UK and US distribution, and think you can order copies direct from the book editors as well at some point soon.

Sick of it all

Sick of it all. 68 likes. A collection of articles from NHS workers on the state of healthcare, fighting for better work conditions and patient care now, while also keeping an eye on creating a...

www.facebook.com

 

[LDC]

This might be of interest as well, a review of a book from the '80s on strikes and struggles in the NHS. The author is speaking at the London book launch mentioned above.

Review of ‘Memoirs of a callous picket’, by Jonathan Neale

“You came to this work out of love and pride. You find yourself up to the elbows in some ungrateful old man’s shit.” We reviewed Jonathan’s book while being involved in the publishing of a new book…

healthworkersunited.wordpress.com

 

[LDC]

Leeds talk now organised...