NHS strike

kopchoir

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100% behind them. The government take advantage of employees of essential services safe in the knowledge that the public won't take their side if it's spun as a danger to public safety. Their complacency is sickening.

Underpaying the people that you depend on when you are at your weakest and most vulnerable strikes me as borderline insanity. I would happily pay more tax if the money only went to the NHS.
 
A very emotive topic.

I guess everyone will have a view and few will change it. Rather like politics, it is all about perception. The facts are very hard to come by and can be massaged to suit any agenda.

It is certainly a hot potato. Just because a job is useful and worthy does not mean there should not be any discussion regarding remuneration. It takes all members of a community to make things work.

A strike is always a failure of the negotiation process. Surely there must be a better way in this day and age.
 
All for it, they deserve the best pay and conditions possible, these people are there for us when we are at our most vunerable.
 
If you look into it max the government are doing the same as with my fellow firefighters (though ours is not about pay). They don't negotiate they impose. It's a case of take it or leave it and the "talks" just go round and round in circles until striking is the only way for the common man/person who is usually on minimum wage or being worked till stressed can be heard.
 
The Francis report highlighted serious issues with staff, yet still the NHS has serious problems in this area, and giving them more money won't stop it.. So no I don't support the strikes.
They get a free education, world class pension and a decent salary, holidays and generous paid mat leave, access to lease vehicles and numerous other benefits..

Although the implementation of the e-roster has been a disaster, my wife works in the NHS and tbh I dislike nearly all of her colleagues, pompus, binge drinking deacons..
 
Unions are protesting at the Government's decision not to accept the independent pay review body's recommendation to award a 1% pay rise to all staff.
Instead, ministers took the decision to award a 1% pay rise for those on top of their pay band but not to those on "progression pay increase", who automatically get a fixed average pay increase of 3%.
The average annual private sector pay increase is currently around 2.5%, while last year it was recommended that MPs should see their pay increase by 11% by 2015.

From Sky News.

Does this mean that most people who are not on top of their pay band receive a 3% increase?
 
It works out at 3% for those on the top bands.
Managers.and the like its much more relative down the bottom.
Have a google on agenda for change bandings. Porters will be band 1 domestics as well.
Clinical support workers anything.from band 2-4 newly qualified.nurse band 5.
Wages arent massive in the first place and the government hasnt given us a payrise in 3 years.
Totally changed the pensions for the.worse as well
 
Unions are protesting at the Government's decision not to accept the independent pay review body's recommendation to award a 1% pay rise to all staff.
Instead, ministers took the decision to award a 1% pay rise for those on top of their pay band but not to those on "progression pay increase", who automatically get a fixed average pay increase of 3%.
The average annual private sector pay increase is currently around 2.5%, while last year it was recommended that MPs should see their pay increase by 11% by 2015.

From Sky News.

Does this mean that most people who are not on top of their pay band receive a 3% increase?
No
 
The Francis report highlighted serious issues with staff, yet still the NHS has serious problems in this area, and giving them more money won't stop it.. So no I don't support the strikes.
They get a free education, world class pension and a decent salary, holidays and generous paid mat leave, access to lease vehicles and numerous other benefits..

Although the implementation of the e-roster has been a disaster, my wife works in the NHS and tbh I dislike nearly all of her colleagues, pompus, binge drinking deacons..
You are tarring all with the same brush. The ones on strike today are the lowest paid and are very unlikely to have any access to vehicles. Also as has been mentioned your wife's pension may be protected but anyone with more than 10 years to do is shafted, they are still ok don't get me wrong but certainly not "world class" as you put it. But the reasons for the generous pensions goes back a long way and I am not blaming any one party as it was a mixture of labour and conservative governments that cocked them up. They could still be affordable today if managed properly back then but that's not what the OP is about.
 
If you look into it max the government are doing the same as with my fellow firefighters (though ours is not about pay). They don't negotiate they impose. It's a case of take it or leave it and the "talks" just go round and round in circles until striking is the only way for the common man/person who is usually on minimum wage or being worked till stressed can be heard.

Clearly this is going to be very difficult for the government. Most will side with the nurses for all the reasons already outlined.

So why have they picked this particular battle? One can only assume they believe it to be right, but it will be a hard message to get across.

I guess we really need to see the government's position to be able to make an independent judgement. That is not to say I disagree with one or either side, but I dislike strikes as it is a waste of taxpayers money, no matter who is 'responsible'.

If this thread is about the reasons for the strike, then it will be interesting to see how it progresses. If it is just a case of saying nurses are great and they deserve unlimited funding, then it will serve little point.
 
Although I think the government has a lot to answer for with pay (do not think it will be any different if we had a Labour government in to be honest) I am not sure that striking is the right way to go. I think it is disgraceful that MPs are even thinking about an 11% payrise themselves while capping alot of public sector pay since it should be the same rules across the board. However, in the current world strikes do not get the support from the general public they used to. MPs know this and so are happy to play hard ball knowing that if a union does go on strike it often turns public opinion against them (we all appear to have become very selffish as a nation and do not want anyone to upset our little bubble). I think unions need to wake up to the new landscape and find better ways of getting their message across to the general public and apply pressure on the ones in charge. Strikes used to be able to do this but it seems an outdated tool that no longer really works. I have no idea what the answer is to this but wonder if it is somethign around social media etc. that could galvanise people behind a cause and show who every is in power that people are not happy so that if they want to be elected back in next time they may want to change their strategy.
 
I think the issue with money within the NHS is beyond just wages, the whole thing is corrupt. My partner heard a consultant in her private hospital bragging about how he was working minimum hours at the NHS site (lesser pay) but was taking a c.£60k car for the job. It's fudgeing bonkers that someone earning a consultant's wage, who is contractually and legally obliged to work on the NHS as well as private sector can then be given a car of that value, given them a reliable but cheaper car at a quarter of the cost and save pennies there.

I'm all for the strikes for the low paid members of staff but all this pissing money into the wind on fancy cars for fancy folks is utterly despicable. Whole system for everything is corrupt in favour of the fudges at the top.
 
Social media may be the answer PSM1 but as you alluded to our nation as a whole are selfish and if it doesn't affect them people just aren't bothered. I hate strikes to but as somebody who believes in unions in as far as we all need a body to protect our rights and if it wasn't for unions the workplace wouldn't be as safe as it is. Strikes do work because if it disrupts Joe P at least it highlights the situation and for the small percentage it annoys there are far more that understand and support nurses and firefighters etc. As usual in these cases and neil has pointed out the mid to high grades are doing ok thanks but the lowest paid suffer.
 
Strikes do work. In fact, any real change has been via a mechanism of direct action. Getting what you want is about exerting power. Most workers do not have political or financial power compared to their employer. Striking is the only power they have available.

The problem the NHS has, is that their action has no affect on those with the power. MPs will all have private health care. They won't experience their loved ones left on trolleys or year long waiting lists.
 
I dunno about the 'no effect on those in power' thing, makes the situation sound like 'A Bug's Life'

 
They get a free education, world class pension and a decent salary, holidays and generous paid mat leave, access to lease vehicles and numerous other benefits..
I receive none of these things. Must be those useless paper pushing managers that breed in the NHS
Seen a comment this morning that if NHS staff don't like it then should look for another job. Now imagine all the nursing staff took that advice and went into the private sector, who would look after people then?
And the strike is mainly because the independent body decided all NHS staff should receive 1% pay rise. But the government has declined this offer
 
Shame we couldnt decline the independent bodies decision to give a pay rise for the politicians
 
I hate to say it, but maybe a private healthcare system like in the states may be the way forward. Obviously we need another layer for those unable to contribute as now.

Then nurses could move between providers and the competition would keep wages competitive.

I know this seems like heresy, but massive organisations under government control always have this issue.
 
My wife has not had a proper pay rise for nearly 5 x years now..

The Govt. are, clearly, taking the wee wee.
 
I hate to say it, but maybe a private healthcare system like in the states may be the way forward. Obviously we need another layer for those unable to contribute as now.

Then nurses could move between providers and the competition would keep wages competitive.

Private sector nurses are paid worse than their NHS counterparts on the whole, here at least.
 
Private sector nurses are paid worse than their NHS counterparts on the whole, here at least.
In scotland ?

Here if i was to do locum work in the uk no pension no holidays sick leave but the pay is good 40 hour week is about 1200 after tax.
Private sector pays considerably more than the nhs circa 10k a year more along with private pension healthcare etc.
 
Sorry, wasn't meaning agency stuff, meant private hospitals as per the 'private healthcare' thing like USA.
 
Private sector nurses are paid worse than their NHS counterparts on the whole, here at least.

But without the NHS, there would be much more demand for nurses. Wonder why nurses don't just move to the NHS in that instance then?
 

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