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As Tories announce pay freeze for NHS workers...

n a further blow to hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, NHS staff learnt that not only would they be given an insulting 1 percent pay increasemany of them will get no pay increase at all this year. 600,000 NHS workers including 70 percent of all NHS nurses will get no increase. This all amounts to a real terms pay cut. In doing so the government has rejected the NHS independent pay review bodys recommendations. The government says that these health workers will already get a pay increase under pay progressionbut thats their contractual entitlement! The reality is that while hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to use foodbanks, millions more are getting deeper into debt and wondering how they are going to make it to the end of the month. NHS staff are, on average, 10 percent worse off since the Tories came to power. Its a disgrace that health workers are being singled out in this wayit underlines the Tories contempt for the NHS. Meanwhile, huge bonuses amounting to 35 million have been handed out to bankers at bailed out banks Lloyds and RBS. Instead of attacking the people who do the hard work of sustaining our NHSwhat about curbing bankers pay and collecting all the evaded, avoided and uncollected taxes?

UNIONS MUST START THE FIGHT ON PAY NOW

Glasgow residential care workers strike rally

victories, show that we can fight and win. Millions of us face a driving down of our wages, millions more are not paid a living wage. Its great that the TUC have called the Britain Needs a Pay Rise demonstration in October. But we need our union leaders, across the trade unions to start the fight now and call coordinated strikes over pay. In November 2011, 2.6 million people struck together over attacks on pensions. We need that kind of scale of action if we are to beat the Tories attacks.

Cleaners striking back at SOAS, central London

Bob Crow 1961-2014

other health workers. At the SOAS University in central London, cleaners who work for ISS have already held a highly successful 48 hour day strike and have announced a further strike next Friday 21 March. They are fighting for equality with other university workers terms and conditions.

Shadow

Care

The Tories have made a big deal about the economic recovery, but whatever recovery there is seems to be being channelled by the Tories to line the pockets of the rich. A number of recent well-supported local strikes have had attacks on pay at their centre. Care UK workers in Doncaster have just announced a further 7 day strike beginning on 19 March. Care workers in older peoples homes in Glasgow are set to strike again if the new offer the council has put on the table is rejectedthis follows seven days of strikes. On Friday morning (14 March) porters, domestic, catering, and helpdesk workers employed by Medirest Compass at Ealing hospital will begin a 7 day strike which follows four days of strikes in February. They are demanding pay equality with

Its good that the GMB and Unite have announced that they will consult their members for strikes over pay and its vital that Unison does too. The unions need to be calling on their members to fight. It was shocking to see Labours shadow health minister, Andy Burnham, respond to Jeremy Hunts announcement by saying that Labour is in favour of pay restraint. Labours pledge to follow Tory spending plans means that, if elected, Labour will continue to drive people further into debt. Its clear that we cant trust Labour. But the recent strikes and important

It was with great sadness that many received the news of RMT leader Bob Crows sudden, untimely death on Tuesday 11 March. It is a tribute to him that many trade unionists not in the RMT, faced with attacks by the bosses said that they wished Bob was their leader or that they could join the RMT. His willingness to call strike ballots and to use his members industrial strength helped forge a stronger union and improve RMT members situation. A full obituary is available in Socialist Worker here: http://bit. ly/1kLZBgQ

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