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| Anthony Bardos (GMB, right) sports a banner with other protesters On 8 August 2020 from 14:00 to 15:00, the Reading Trades Union Council joined trade unionists and other supporters of the NHS from Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire for the 'Oxfordshire Campaign for NHS Pay Justice and London Weighting' rally in Bonn Square, Oxford. The organisers called on NHS workers in Oxfordshire to gather for a socially-distanced protest to demand pay justice for all NHS workers. Masks were worn and social distancing respected. |
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| Ian McKendrick opens the event |
NHS workers have been criminally let down by the Tory Government. Despite all their sacrifices, the government has not included nurses, porters and other grades in the pay deal for public sector workers.
NHS staff did not have the option to work from home, they worked overtime, isolated from their families and lost over 540 colleagues to COVID-19. But the Tories do not value the service.
NHS workers deserve a pay rise for the 20% pay cut they have
endured since 2010. They need a pay rise to address the 100,000 vacancies
across the NHS that put patients at risk. They need a pay rise because of a
decade of austerity. In Oxford, they need a pay rise to help them to survive in one of the
most expensive cities in the UK. Oxford
NHS staff pay London prices but don't get London weighting.
The rally was an effort to unite the fight for NHS rights to fair pay! The Oxford rally was part of a national show of anger which occurred across the UK on the same day. The organisers called for a 15% pay rise and the extension of London weighting to Oxfordshire.
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| Reading's John Partington and Anthony Bardos Ian McKendrick of Unison's Oxford Health Branch introduced the event before welcoming speakers from local Unison, Royal College of Nursing, Unite and other trade unions and health campaign groups. RTUC was represented by John Partington (TSSA), joined by Reading activist, Anthony Bardos (GMB). |
