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| The RTUC Contingent at the NHS 70th Birthday! Cllr Ruth McEwan (3rd left, Unison), Nada Al Sanjari (4th left, NEU), John Partington (2nd right, TSSA), Nick Hatton (far right, UCU) |
On 30 June 2018, health workers and patients alike - many with their trade union paraphernalia - assembled in Portland Place and processed through London to the centre of political power - Whitehall - to both celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NHS and to protest Conservative policies leading to the privatisation of our universal health care system.
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| Slough Trades Council on the march! |
Organised by the People's Assembly, Reading Trades Union Council delegates along with comrades from Palestine Solidarity, the Labour Party and the Socialist Party, converged on Whitehall and met in the blistering sunshine to celebrate the benefits of a cradle-to-grave healthcare system free at the point of use and listen to the speeches from health professionals, politicians and trade unionists warning of the damage the NHS is suffering under Tory reforms.
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| RMT backing a publicly owned and controlled NHS |
The shot in the arm came from Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, expressing the trade union movement's determination to fight Tory privatisation of the NHS.
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| TUC General secretary, Frances O'Grady, addresses the assembly |
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| Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn MP, wows the crowd with the promise of undoing Tory privatisations in the NHS |
She was followed by Jeremy Corbyn's pledge, as leader of the Labour Party, to reverse privatisation and re-establish the NHS on the basis of the founding principles of 1948: a universal coverage, paid for through progressive taxation, available to all free at the point of use.
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| Oxford Unite join the march |
In addition to RTUC delegates, Oxford workers from Unite were spotted with their banner - members of Oxford & District Trades Union Council with whom the RTUC has cooperated in the past. Also, RTUC's partner in the Berkshire Association of Trades Councils, Slough Trades Council, was in attendance.
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| Nada (far left) and Ruth (2nd right) join comrades on Whitehall |
The Reading contingent was represented at the event by Nada Al Sanjari (NEU), Joan Boyd (NEU), Kevin Brandstatter (GMB), John Gillman (Unite), Nick Hatton (UCU), Kathy McCubbing (Palestine Solidarity), Cllr Ruth McEwan (Unison), John Partington (TSSA) and Billie Reynolds (Unison).
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| Nick, Nada and John await speeches in Whitehall |
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| Joan Boyd (NEU) and John en route to Whitehall |
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| Billie Reynolds (Unison), Nada and Kathy McCubbing (Palestine Solidarity) at the end of the march |
Many leaflets and magazines were distributed at the event, but perhaps that of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) captured the basic appeal of the protesters most concisely: 'Save Our NHS'.
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| An example of pro-NHS publicity distributed during the march |
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