Victory to the Health Workers!

On 1^st May, the International Workers Day, RCN nurses across the country will be on strike. They have refused to accept the Government’s pay offer, seeing it for what it was, a derisory cut in real pay.  They have rejected the pleas of their union leaders, who said it was the best deal they could get., and they have ignored the propaganda of the mass media telling them to get back to work. Some doctors’ leaders have suggested that that they co-ordinate their own strike action with the nurses.  This has never happened before and if it does, the political impact will be enormous.

The government’s strategy for dealing with the strike wave is in tatters.  They hoped to split the nurses off from other health workers by secretly offering their leaders a preferential deal next year. Other health unions found out and demanded to be included.

Some union leaders in the public sector are busily damping down workers’ expectations and urging their members to accept below inflation wage deals.  They say it’s the best they can hope for until a Labour Government is elected.  This belief is completely mistaken.  It’s by no means certain that Starmer’s Labour Party will win an election, given the way his popularity in the polls is nose-diving. Secondly, power-hungry Starmer has made it clear that, like Blair before him, he has no time for trade unions. His policies in practice would be little different to the Tories.

Strike action is the only way forward for workers in Britain and Northern Ireland to improve living standards and the prospects for our children. We should take a lead from private sector workers, who stay out on strike indefinitely until their employers cave in.  We should learn from strikers in France, who are blockading roads, railways, and oil refineries. French energy workers refuse to cut off those who can’t meet their energy bills. Instead, they cut off power to the homes of the rich and powerful.

Victory to the nurses of the RCN! Victory to the striking BMA doctors! They are fighting for the survival of our health service and they need our maximum support!

Late News:

As we go to press, Government minister, Steve Barclay heads for the courts in an attempt to block action by nurses. He says it’s not an attempt on the right to strike. We say, yeah right.

Article from Leicester Muckery issue 2