NHS workers, come to the Left Unity Public Sector meeting
Mark Boothroyd, a nurse in the NHS explains why health workers should come to the public sector meeting in London on 13th September
With NHS workers finally being balloted for action against the pay freeze, a lot of organising and discussion needs to take place about how we can take forward strike action in the NHS.
This will be the first national action in the NHS since the pensions dispute, and is an opportunity to generalise from a narrow fight over pay, into a fight over the future of our NHS.
While the NHS workforce and trade union membership is massively demoralised by years of austerity, cuts and atrocious working conditions, there is widespread anger and a desire to do something to hit back at this vicious government.
The pay strike comes at a time when all parties are gearing up for the election, and the NHS being in the news is poison for the Tory-Liberal coalition due to what they have done to the health service over the last four years.
This is an appeal for Left Unity NHS workers to attend the September 13th Public Sector trade unionists meeting so we can discuss ways to better coordinate our activity in the run up to the strike, how we can campaign for further days of action, and share ideas on how to implement a work to rule in the NHS in a way which benefits patients and staff.
Crucially, we need to work out how we can transform our pay strike into a fight to save the NHS and link it with the fantastic grassroots community struggles we’ve seen from groups like Save Lewisham Hospital, Save Our Surgeries and more recently, the inspiring action by the Darlo mums walking from Jarrow to London.
This meeting is an opportunity to start this discussion. I’ve written a longer blog post laying out some ideas about the strike, please read, share, comment and write a reply if interested. Please attend the meeting if you can.
13th September – 12noon – 5pm
Chadswel Healthy Living Centre,
Lower Ground Floor,
Chadswell, Harrison Street,
London, WC1H 8JE
Nearest tube Kings Cross
Venue is wheelchair accessible
Meeting details are here
3 comments
3 responses to “NHS workers, come to the Left Unity Public Sector meeting”
Left Unity is active in movements and campaigns across the left, working to create an alternative to the main political parties.
About Left Unity
Read our manifesto
Left Unity is a member of the European Left Party. 
Read the European Left Manifesto
ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Events and protests from around the movement, and local Left Unity meetings.
ongoing
Just Stop Oil – Slow Marches
Slow marches are still legal (so LOW RISK of arrest), and are extremely effective. The plan is to keep up the pressure on this ecocidal government to stop all new fossil fuel licences.
Saturday 27th April: national march for Palestine
National demonstration.
Ceasefire NOW! Stop the Genocide in Gaza: Assemble 12 noon Central London
Full details to follow
More events »
GET UPDATES
Sign up to the Left Unity email newsletter.
CAMPAIGNING MATERIALS
Get the latest Left Unity resources.
Went to the Yorkshire and Humberside UNISON regional activist meeting in July specifically about the pay ballot.
Great lead off by the regional officer and from Christine McAnea who put this terrible non pay deal and the ballot firmly in the context of privatisation, cuts and the CareUK dispute.
Disappointment that it is only 2 x 4 hours but our jobs as activists is to maximise turnout and make the action is as big and effective as possible. Try to make the “action short of a strike” as collective as possible.
In my branch 4 of the 5 people on the strike organising subgroup are in LU.
Basic stuff really.
Do we really need a national meeting to give direction.
These meetings are time consuming and we would be better spending an afternoon in our workplaces talking to members.
Too many meetings where we talk a lot …we need to do more in our unions.
I don’t know many people who are in work on a Saturday – but certainly I think it would be good to network a bit better together and as you say, give some direction to everything so we can better support each other
Simon, most of the health workers I know and with whom I work with, work on Saturdays, Sunday’s, Bank Holidays, Xmas’s, New Year’s etc etc……but the point I was making is that London based national meetings are incredibly time consuming and expensive and not all that useful. Going to our local union branches and participating in the campaign with our union colleagues is more productive and helpful in building a left influence in our workplaces and unions than meeting up with already committed left unity members exchanging the usual contributions.