Category: nhs strikes

Blog: An electric atmosphere at Northern Ireland strikes

I arrived in Belfast last night, ready to spend today with striking health and care workers. After radio interviews with BBC Radio Ulster and Foyle, I arrived to a packed picket line.

Together, we marched from the Royal Victoria Hospital, joining other marchers on the way to a rally at Belfast City Hall. The atmosphere was electric. An energy driven by their determination to put an end to poverty pay and the silence from politicians in power.

Northern Ireland’s healthcare workers have taken a difficult decision to go on strike. So it’s no surprise they’re ready to be loud about the bold steps they’re taking.

From the stage at the rally, I looked out over the sea of purple and green UNISON flags and the colours of other unions. I could see the faces of the essential workers who have been treated by governments as dispensable, unimportant and as a nuisance.

My message to them was that UNISON is 100% behind them all, and that we’re in it for the long haul. The Prime Minister, the chancellor and the health secretary have gone into hiding. But they can’t stay there forever.

They must face the reality that they’re letting down millions of workers from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. That their political choices have caused hardship to workers and families, and are driving our public services into the ground.

UNISON will keep up the pressure on the Westminster government. Until they take responsibility, get round the negotiating table and deliver fair pay for our amazing members, we will remain resolute, organised and loud!

The article Blog: An electric atmosphere at Northern Ireland strikes first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Third day of NHS strikes in Northern Ireland

A third day of NHS strike action in Northern Ireland is taking place today (Tuesday), with thousands of UNISON members in the six arm’s length bodies of the health trust out on pickets, including staff at the Northern Ireland ambulance service.

Speaking of the dispute, Anne Speed, UNISON head of bargaining and representation in Northern Ireland, said: “While the political stalemate continues health staff and patients are paying a price.

“The inertia from the secretary of state speaks volumes. Taking direction from Westminster, who also appear to be doing nothing, is just not good enough.”

At 9:30am UNISON members in Belfast, joined by general secretary Christina McAnea, marched from their picket lines at the Royal Victoria Hospital, the City Hospital, Greenpark, the Mater Hospital and trust community sites across Belfast where they joined teaching unions in a solidarity rally at Belfast City Hall.

Here’s Christina McAnea speaking from a picket line in Belfast:

The article Third day of NHS strikes in Northern Ireland first appeared on the UNISON National site.

NHS staff across Northern Ireland take third day of action in strike over pay

Health and social service workers across Northern Ireland are staging a third 24-hour walkout tomorrow in the ongoing dispute about pay and staffing, says UNISON today (Monday).

Nurses, ambulance staff, healthcare assistants, homecare workers, porters and staff in other NHS roles will be on picket lines and joining marches to five rallies taking place across Northern Ireland tomorrow.

NHS and care staff in Northern Ireland have so far staged a one-day strike in December and another last month (26 January).

Tomorrow is the third time they will have walked out. They’ve also been taking action short of a strike (working to their contracts and not doing any overtime) for several weeks too.

UNISON says Tuesday’s strike could be halted if the Westminster government would only talk to health unions and come up with the goods for a pay rise to resolve the dispute.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea, who will be visiting various picket lines and speaking at a rally outside Belfast City Hall, said: “No ambulance or NHS worker wants to be taking action. But the number of vacancies has become so great that they can no longer deliver safe patient care or maintain quality services.

“Strikes won’t be called off until health workers’ wages are boosted this year and talks held to negotiate the next rise due in April.

“Governments in other parts of the UK have shown what it’s possible to achieve with dialogue, and a commitment to boosting pay and tackling the staffing emergency.

“Ministers must change gear, find the funds to invest in the workforce, improve wages and resolve the dispute in the best interests of staff, the NHS and patients.”

UNISON Northern Ireland head of health Anne Speed said: “While the political stalemate continues health staff and patients are paying the price.

“Politicians in Northern Ireland should roll up their sleeves and act together in the interests of the health service. They should put pressure on Rishi Sunak and Chris Heaton-Harris to release the funding that could help end this damaging dispute.”

Notes to editors: 
– At 9.30am on Tuesday, health workers will join a march, alongside UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea, that forms up from picket lines at the Royal Victoria Hospital, the City Hospital, Greenpark, the Mater Hospital and various other health locations across Belfast. They will head towards City Hall for a rally where they’ll be joined by teachers, who are also on strike tomorrow. Rallies are also taking place tomorrow in Bangor, Ballymena, Omagh and Derry.
– For media interviews with Christina McAnea while she’s in Belfast, contact John Patrick Clayton on 07508 080386.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the Ambulance sector. It has more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in Education, Local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts: 
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

 

The article NHS staff across Northern Ireland take third day of action in strike over pay first appeared on the UNISON National site.

NHS dispute widens to cover most parts of England

The growing NHS dispute over pay and staffing will now cover ambulance services and other NHS organisations across most parts of England, says UNISON today (Friday).

Announcing its re-ballot results of thousands more health workers, UNISON says staff at another four English ambulance services and five NHS organisations, including NHS Blood and Transplant, will now be able to strike. This is a significant escalation of the dispute.

Following the re-ballot of staff at ten NHS employers in England, the union said ambulance staff at four services in England – South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands – had voted to take industrial action.

They’ve been joined today by health workers at NHS Blood and Transplant, Great Ormond Street Hospital, the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the Bridgewater Community Trust.

The 12,000 staff involved in the re-ballots can now take part in the ongoing dispute alongside their NHS colleagues at ambulance services in London, Yorkshire, the North East, North West and South West. Since the dispute over pay and staffing began in December, staff at these service have taken strike action on four occasions, says UNISON.

NHS workers at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and two trusts in Liverpool (the University Hospitals Trust and the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital) have also had live strike mandates since last year. Between them, these NHS employees have taken three days of action.

Announcing the results of the ballot at UNISON’s annual women’s conference in Bournemouth, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “It’s time the prime minister ditched his ‘do nothing’ strategy for dealing with escalating strikes across the NHS.

“Governments in other parts of the UK know what it takes to resolve disputes. Ministers in Scotland and Wales are talking to health unions and acting to boost pay for NHS staff this year.

“And Holyrood is really showing Westminster up. Health workers in Scotland have had a bigger pay rise this year and are set to get a decent wage increase in April following their government’s latest offer.

“Sadly, health workers across England have been met with a wall of silence from Number Ten. The prime minister stubbornly refuses to talk about pay, preferring to subject everyone to many months of disruption.

“The public must think the Westminster government is living on another planet. They can see how talks in other parts of the UK have lifted the threat of strikes and cannot understand why the prime minister isn’t doing the same.

“Health staff want to go back to work, and the public wants an NHS capable of delivering quality care. The prime minister must roll up his sleeves, invite the unions into Downing Street and start the genuine pay talks that could end this damaging dispute.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON re-balloted ambulance workers at five services in England (South East Coast, South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands) and the Welsh Ambulance Service. Unfortunately, the vote at South East Coast fell short of the legal threshold. Staff at NHS Blood and Transplant, London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the North West-based Bridgewater Community Trust were also asked to vote again over pay and staffing.
– UNISON ambulance workers took strike action on 21 December, on 11 and 23 January, and on 10 February. Health workers at two Liverpool trusts (the University Hospitals Trust and the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital) walked out on 21 December and 23 January. Staff at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also went on strike on 17 January. Further strike dates are set to be announced.
– Earlier today the Scottish government made a pay offer to health unions for the next pay year (2023/24). If accepted, this would see most NHS workers receive pay increases of more than 8% in April.  That would mean that over the two years (2022/23 and 2023/24) nurses in Scotland will have got a pay rise of more than 14% and the lowest paid NHS workers an increase of close to 20%.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the ambulance sector. It has more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article NHS dispute widens to cover most parts of England first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Put NHS pay right – NHS strike rolling report

10:20am Beautiful ‘golden hour’ down at Filton this morning.

10:20am Good to see some MPs dropping by pickets – Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) and Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) here.

Ian Lavery MP on the picket line at Ashington
Julie Elliott MP on the picket line at Pallion

How to support

We’ve got loads of ways you can support the strikers today:

Ways you can support

Show your solidarity on twitter

You can donate to UNISON’s strike fund, details are here:

Donate to the strike fund

9:55am Christina McAnea, UNISON general secretary spoke to Nick Ferrari on LBC from a SW picket line, this morning, about the government’s ‘warm words’ – but lack of action.

9:30am As with the previous strikes, UNISON crews will still be providing cover and responding to high priority calls throughout the day.

9:00am Even if the weather isn’t – socials are certainly starting to warm up. Paul and Ella in Gateshead and picketers in Kendal.

8:45am Putting it politely, its a brisk start for most of our strikers this morning with temperatures ranging from 1°C in London to a balmy 7°C in Newcastle.

The North West might see a few sparse showers but the rest of England should remain dry.

Cold, dry – now thats what I call ‘Brazier Weather’™. Stay tuned for updates.

Unison members out on strike at Huyton Ambulance Station, Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

8:30am Meanwhile, earlier this week UNISON urged Rishi Sunak to come to the table to resolve the dispute:

“He says his door is open but without an invite to that mythical negotiating table, NHS staff have no choice but to go on striking.”

It’s time the PM ditched the pretence

8:15am This morning Christina McAnea, UNISON general secretary will be touring picket lines in the South West, starting with North Bristol Operations Centre.

Christina McAnea at North Bristol Operations Centre 10 Feb 2023

8:00am As ambulance workers start walking out across five regions for UNISON’s fourth NHS strike over the past three months – our rolling report also starts.

Check back in here throughout the day for updates from across the country and the media.

For now, if you’re not striking you can show your solidarity on Twitter and Facebook with #PutNHSPayRight or by using our template tweet:

Support our strikers

The article Put NHS pay right – NHS strike rolling report first appeared on the UNISON National site.

It’s time the PM ditched the pretence and came clean with the public, says UNISON

If the government has no intention of resolving the NHS dispute, the prime minister must come clean and admit to the public that many more months of disruption are on the cards, says UNISON today (Thursday).

Ministers say they only want to talk about the NHS wage rise due in April. But the current round of strikes is over the government’s failure to tackle the growing staffing emergency and pay health workers properly this financial year, says the union.

By refusing point blank to discuss the issue at the heart of the dispute, the prime minister is condemning the public to escalating strikes, with more health workers and unions likely to join in the coming weeks, says UNISON.

Tomorrow (Friday) ambulance workers belonging to UNISON in five services across England (London, Yorkshire, the South West, North West and North East), will walk out for a fourth time. 

And next week UNISON ballots are due to close involving an additional 13,000 health workers, including staff at the five other ambulance services in England.

Despite this potential escalation, the government is still refusing to convene talks, says UNISON. Ministers want everyone to await the outcome of the NHS pay review body, but at best that’s not likely to report before May, the union says.

New figures from NHS England suggest 137,000 appointments have been cancelled since the strikes began last December. At this rate, as many as 250,000 patients could face disruption by late spring, should the government allow the dispute to drag on needlessly, warns UNISON.

It’s not even as if the prime minister has far to look to see how easy it is to do things rather differently, says UNISON.

Discussions between governments and health unions in Scotland and Wales have seen strikes paused and improved pay offers for NHS staff. Now talks between fire service employers and firefighters mean yet another strike threat has been lifted.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “Dialogue can achieve great things. The prime minister should give it a go. Governments elsewhere in the UK have shown it’s good to talk to unions. That’s the only way disputes get resolved.

“Rishi Sunak says his door is open but without an invite to that mythical negotiating table, NHS staff have no choice but to go on striking.

“Ambulance workers are desperate to get back to work, care for people and save lives. But they’re equally determined to secure the pay rise that’ll help put the NHS in a much better place.

“The prime minister must ditch the pretence. It’s time to come clean with people and admit the government’s only plan is to sit tight and hope public opinion turns against health workers.

“But that’s unlikely to happen. The public can see that by choosing not to negotiate, the government is condemning them to months of unnecessary disruption.

“Rishi Sunak says the NHS is a priority, but his inaction suggests otherwise. NHS leaders, health staff and patients all want the government to resolve the dispute now, not in many months’ time.

“With the chancellor in hiding, it’s down to the prime minister to step up. Rishi Sunak must stop trying to sit it out, take the hand being offered to him by the unions, settle the dispute and allow the NHS to get back on track.”

Urging the prime minister to resolve the dispute, 111 health worker Melissa Ozcan, who works for the North West Ambulance Service, said: “I’ll never forget an 85-year-old man who’d fallen on the floor, couldn’t get up and had no family nearby to help. It broke my heart to tell him the wait for an ambulance was 11 hours. This polite, lovely man was all alone. 

“People in those situations deteriorate very quickly and the current wait times are dangerous. We wouldn’t be seeing these issues if more staff could be retained. It’s not in my gift to change things but the prime minister can with a decent pay rise.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON balloted 15,000 workers across the five ambulance services. Details of the pickets being organised are here.
– UNISON is re-balloting ambulance workers at five ambulance services in England (South East Coast, South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands) and the Welsh Ambulance Service. This began on Friday 6 January and continues until next Thursday (16 February). Also being re-balloted are UNISON members working at NHS Blood and Transplant, London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the North West-based Bridgewater Community Trust.
– UNISON ambulance workers took strike action on 21 December, and again on 11 and 23 January. Friday 10 February is their fourth day of action. Health workers at two Liverpool trusts (the University Hospitals Trust and the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital) first walked out on 21 December and on 23 January. Staff at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also went on strike on 17 January.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the ambulance sector, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.  

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article It’s time the PM ditched the pretence and came clean with the public, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Government inaction just leads to more action

An escalation in our industrial action is about to cause more headaches for the Westminster government – an administration that’s already buckling under the pressure.

Working people are standing up for themselves and refusing to quietly accept the pay crisis and a decline in their living standards. In contrast, the government ministers responsible for sorting out public sector pay disputes have gone silent.  

There have been no meetings between UNISON and ministers since before 11 January, and it has been weeks since Rishi Sunak protested on the media that his ‘door was always open’.

But is it? No invite has arrived in my office, and our request to meet the chancellor has gone unanswered.  

Even odder, is the health secretary’s admission to the health select committee that the government hadn’t submitted any evidence to the NHS pay review body

One thing is for sure, the pay crisis that our members are dealing with won’t go away if the government sticks to their current game plan of ignoring workers and their unions.

And the constant dire economic forecasts give nobody hope that the government knows what they’re doing. As we’ve had no progress in resolving our disputes, we’ve announced more NHS and Environment Agency strike dates.

Environment Agency workers will walk out for another 12 hours from 7am on Wednesday, 8 February.

Meanwhile, ambulance workers in London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West will go on strike again on Friday, 10 February.  

Our NHS action, on top of that of other unions, means there’ll be action in the NHS every day this week.

For members who take the difficult decision to go on strike and lose a day’s pay, it’s tough. They need all of our solidarity and our moral support.

We’ve also set up an appeal, and any contribution you can make to the strike fund is very much appreciated.

UNISON has been taking sustained industrial action for some time now. We are now welcoming additional donations to our strike fund.
You can make a one-off bank transfer or set up a regular standing order to:
Account name: UNISON
Account no: 20170693
Sort code: 60-83-01
If you want your donation to go to the health strike fund, please use the reference health. If you want your donation to go to Environment Agency, please use the reference env. If you don’t use a reference it will go to the general strike fund.

The article Blog: Government inaction just leads to more action first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Digging in won’t solve pay dispute, nor get the NHS back on its feet

The NHS won’t be able to deliver the speedier response times and better care the government is promising until ministers try harder to end the growing dispute about pay and staffing, says UNISON today (Tuesday).

Later today the health secretary will be asked about the government’s handling of the NHS dispute by MPs on the health and social care select committee, just as UNISON announces its fourth day of strike action on Friday 10 February.

This morning, NHS pay review body chair Philippa Hird told the committee the Department of Health and Social Care has yet to submit evidence ahead of the next pay round beginning in April. The deadline was 11 January.

UNISON’s 10 February strike again involves ambulance workers across five services in England – London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West.

Strikes will now be happening across the NHS every day next week apart from Wednesday (8 February). UNISON’s action follows hard on the heels of strikes involving ambulance staff, nurses and physiotherapists organised by four other health unions.

With worries about the state of the NHS topping the list of public concerns recently, UNISON’s urging the government to stop pretending the strikes will simply go away and act decisively to end the dispute by improving pay.

But unless the government has a major rethink over NHS pay, and gets actual pay talks going with unions, UNISON warns it will announce strike dates running into March. By then, the dispute is likely to affect double the number of trusts and extend to the whole of the ambulance service in England, says UNISON.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “After promising everyone a quicker pay review body process, the secretary of state’s own department failed to get its evidence in on time earlier this month.

“Ministers must stop fobbing the public off with promises of a better NHS, while not lifting a finger to solve the staffing emergency staring them in the face.

“The government must stop playing games. Rishi Sunak wants the public to believe ministers are doing all they can to resolve the dispute. They’re not.

“There are no pay talks, and the prime minister must stop trying to hoodwink the public. It’s time for some honesty. Ministers are doing precisely nothing to end the dispute.

“The government’s tactics seem to be to dig in, wait months for the pay review body report and hope the dispute goes away. It won’t. And in the meantime, staff will carry on quitting, and patients being let down.

“There can be no health service without the staff to run it. Ministers must open proper talks to end the dispute and put in place the urgent retention plan needed to boost pay and staffing across the NHS.”

Notes to editors:
– Last week the January 2023 Ipsos Issues Index showed that public concerns about the NHS are now more important than inflation and the economy. Forty two per cent said the NHS was the most pressing issue, up fifteen percentage points since December. This compared to 37% mentioning the economy and 36% inflation.
– On Monday 6 February Royal College of Nursing (RCN), GMB and Unite members will go on strike, followed by a second day of action from the RCN on Tuesday 7. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is calling its members out next Thursday, and the day after up to 15,000 UNISON ambulance staff walk out across five ambulance services in England.
– UNISON is also re-balloting workers at the remaining five ambulance services in England (South East Coast, South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands) as well as in the Welsh Ambulance Service. This vote began on 6 January and ends 16 February. Also being re-balloted are UNISON members at NHS Blood and Transplant, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the North West-based Bridgewater Community Trust.
– UNISON ambulance workers took strike action on 21 December, and again on 11 and 23 January. Friday 10 February is their fourth day of action. Health workers at two Liverpool trusts (the University Hospitals Trust and the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital) first walked out on 21 December and on 23 January. Staff at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also went on strike on 17 January.
– Earlier this month, health unions decided against submitting joint evidence about the wage rise due in April to the NHS pay review body because of the ongoing dispute. Health secretary Steve Barclay had promised unions he would speed up the pay review body process, but his department has still not put in its own evidence. The deadline was 11 January.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the ambulance sector. It has more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Digging in won’t solve pay dispute, nor get the NHS back on its feet first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Strikes are serious in Yorkshire

In the third day of strike action in the NHS, UNISON members working for the ambulance service at Rotherham Hospital in South Yorkshire took to the picket lines, while the union’s head of health, Sara Gorton, joined the picket at Wakefield, where she fielded questions from the media.

Photographer Mark Pinder took his camera along.

Pickets with flags in Rotherham

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire and Sara Gorton. Sheffield/Crowder Road ambulance station. Monday 23rd January 2023. Photo © Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 pinder.photo@gmail.com www.markpinder.net

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire Wakefield picket. Monday 23rd January 2023.

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire Wakefield picket. Monday 23rd January 2023. with Sara Gorton

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire Wakefield picket. Monday 23rd January 2023. with Sara Gorton

Unison ambulance workers strike in South Yorkshire Wakefield picket. Monday 23rd January 2023.

 

The article Strikes are serious in Yorkshire first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Proud to be in a union – striking in the North West

On a chilly day in the North West of England, UNISON members in the NHS continued their industrial action over pay and the crisis facing the health service. Steve Forrest captured a flavour of the third day of pickets.

We start our look back at yesterday’s strike in the region at the Eccles Ambulance Station in Greater Manchester.

Unison members out on strike at Eccles Ambulance Station, Eccles, Manchester,

 

Unison members out on strike at Eccles Ambulance Station, Eccles, Manchester, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Eccles Ambulance Station, Eccles, Manchester, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Eccles Ambulance Station, Eccles, Manchester, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Eccles Ambulance Station, Eccles, Manchester, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

And on to Huyton Ambulance Station in Merseyside, where members were joined by UNISON president Andrea Egan.

Unison members out on strike at Huyton Ambulance Station, Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Huyton Ambulance Station, Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Huyton Ambulance Station, Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Huyton Ambulance Station, Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Huyton Ambulance Station, Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

And then to the Liverpool Royal Hospital, where UNISON members drummed up a real Mersey beat.

Unison members out on strike at Liverpool Royal Hospital Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Liverpool Royal Hospital Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Liverpool Royal Hospital Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Liverpool Royal Hospital Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

Unison members out on strike at Liverpool Royal Hospital Liverpool, UK. Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos

The article Proud to be in a union – striking in the North West first appeared on the UNISON National site.