Nurses striking

[gigilouxx]

I’ve never once called any idiotic

and my comment about repeated tropes was a general observation and not directed at any one person and there have been people who haven’t said anything like this either.

who strikes when economic times are good? Anyway I’m sure the BMA can’t rely on your support when we potentially strike next month which is a shame but our campaign is all about pay

Think my fuckin doctors been on strike since about 2018 cos I’ve not been able to get in for an appointment

 

[Eltonjohnsflorist]

I back them 100%. It’s not about “working” ie getting 16% (which they know they won’t, that’s their negotiation) it’s about action and disruption. They’re achieving that and I admire them.

 

[JoeBloggs]

I fully support that their working conditions and pay is appalling however I do not support strikes.

We need to go back, no more needing a degree, more hands on paid training and much better pay. Free parking, on-site nurseries etc.Get rid of big bosses, paper pushers, they also need to bring back convalescent homes to make hospitals run better.

Hearing that the Scottish have reject a 11% rise is madness. Where do they think this money tree is c

 

[gigilouxx]

What we need is a government who doesn’t treat the NHS as a golden egg and act as though we should be happy for a shitty health service because it’s “free”
Reform is needed in every sector.

 

[Gloria Rostron]

48 hour strike now planned for March

I feel sorry for all those who will be sat in pain in a hospital bed, or deteriorating whilst this political stunt goes on.

 

[JoeBloggs]

My electric bill is £180. My childcare bill is £1,400 and I can't go to work unless it's paid.

You have a childcare bill because you have had a child and decided to return to work. It’s not compulsory.

 

[Tui]

In the context of this thread a front line worker is a frontline health care worker ie patient facing worker. It’s misleading for OnlyHereForTheLolz to say they were a frontline worker in this context because they are inferring they had experience of caring for patients in a pandemic situation and that this lends weight to what they have to say about our training and preparation. If you worked in Tesco during the pandemic then I agree you had a crucial role to play in keeping society going, but you don’t know anything more about what it’s like to work in a hospital in that situation and so it’s kind of irrelevant if you’re trying to illustrate how your experience has informed your opinion about what it’s like to work in the nhs

there’s so many people here so ready to get offended about people talking about their experience as health care workers when this is literally a thread about nurses striking.

 

[Gloria Rostron]

I don't understand choosing to work in a profession that requires caring and compassion if you are going to waltz out over an industrial dispute. There are people in hospital in urgent need of care, dialysis, transfusions etc being neglected over this. No compassionate person would leave them to suffer.

In 2020, before energy companies started raising bills, they were offered a 1% increase, wich sounds fair enough and inline with inflation at the time. Now, they are demanding a 19% increase which is just ludicrous! Bear in mind they have always been paid considerably above minimum wage.

The way my grandmother was neglected by nurses after her stroke, how frail she was and miserable, I won't be fooled in to thinking they are all holier than though.

 

[TheBlondeBuffoon]

I support the strikes. And I’m not sure where this misinformation about it just being for the qualified nurses is coming in. I am an HCA and as a member of the RCN I voted to strike( but my trust didn’t have a mandate)Note how RCN are being very careful to say nursing staff, rather than “nurses”. Because it includes the HCA’s!!

 

[Polythene Pam]

For those that say they support nurses but not the strikes, what would you suggest they do instead?

We wouldn't even have weekends if it wasn't for strikes. Maternity leave, sick pay, annual leave, all resulted from union action. Strikes are SUPPOSED to be inconvenient and difficult. It's about demonstrating the value of the labour. Would we be having these discussions if toilet cleaners went on strike? Probably not.

 

[miss n thropy]

I fully support that their working conditions and pay is appalling however I do not support strikes.

We need to go back, no more needing a degree, more hands on paid training and much better pay. Free parking, on-site nurseries etc.Get rid of big bosses, paper pushers, they also need to bring back convalescent homes to make hospitals run better.

Hearing that the Scottish have reject a 11% rise is madness. Where do they think this money tree is c

Well, according to the London School of Economics, abolishing non Dom status tax breaks would raise more than £3.2 billion per year. More than enough to fund public sector pay rises for nurses and paramedics etc.

 

[popb1tch]

I can tell you what I do
I give life saving medication that has to be drawn up to the decimal point and work out how to dilute it/give it. Be aware of current blood results and other meds incase it contradicts the need for blend. Double check all doses. Repeat this maybe 10 -15 times a shift. Manage the unit and my own patient work load, ensure all obs are done, ensure doctors are aware of any obs that are abnormal, do what I can do help fix the obs such as give analgesia, get them something to drink, ask the doctor to prescribe more fluids, hang them fluids, then recheck the obs. Update the family while I do all of this. Ensure everything is documented, move onto the next patient and repeat. I work in a&e so I do this while the managing the unit, when the triage Que starts to build up I triage up to 20 patients an hour, while managing the unit and attending to patients I was looking after earlier. Now imagine doing this and the phone starts ringing, it’s the matrons asking me to investigate incidents or speak to pharmacy/the ward/attend a meeting. Phone rings again it’s a parent who wants to change their apt or they couldn’t get prescribed med anywhere, this is now something I have to fix. But my patients in the cubicles are going to breach (be in a&e for longer the 4 hours so to meet target need to be moved to the ward) I need to phone the ward to see if their ready, they will be in 5mins, great plenty of time to sort this prescription call them back and arrange for them to pick it up. Move the patient to the ward, come back down, start breaks, triage Que is now on 20 people, it’s 10am. It’s me and one other nurse and if I’m lucky and blessed a health care assistant. That is my life every day I go to work. I think that’s should allow me to earn enough to put on my heating thank you very much

And then doing all that knowing the ward/clinic is down another qualified member of staff or two…it’s phenomenally stressful, both physically (all the running and lifting) and mentally (the calculations and balancing of risk)

 

[judgejohndeed]

Still pro strike and happy a deal has been obtained but I do think comments comparing with Aldi workers are in very poor taste, not just nurses though, seen doctors doing the same on Twitter. You can make the point that your job is poorly compensated for the level of risk/responsibility and the conditions without punching down at what is undeniably seen as a 'menial' job, that's why it looks like HCPs are looking down on supermarket staff. Lets not forget that there will be staff in Aldi who have degrees and debt too, there are far more graduates than there are graduate jobs and many students work in supermarkets or retail/hospitality roles after they graduate, and supermarket workers are a weird one to have a pop at not least because they were also a group who had to keep working through the pandemic?! Yes, they weren't 'saving lives' but they were exposing themselves to COVID daily to keep us all fed, an extremely important job IMO.

 

[Emsie]

I support the right to strike.
However I don't think nurses are as badly paid as is being made out.

 

[Sunflower91]

I understand why they are going on strike and really hope they get better pay and conditions but I’m also not convinced striking will solve anything. Look at all the rail strikes we’ve had this year- and it’s still not resolved. Striking just feels like it has implications on the wrong people. My family have been in and out of hospital this year and it’s been terrifying enough with backlogs, shortages and really basic planning/ communication problems (probably a symptom of lack of people). The people it impacts are regular people, not the people in charge who can just go elsewhere.

 

[JoeBloggs]

No job is low skilled, all of them have their own skills be it talking to be people, the way to do the role etc.

Yes to be a nurse takes more training but it does not make them better than anyone else.

 

[Emsie]

This right here is what is wrong with people and why my respect is dwindling.
Already the “we are better and therefore deserve more” is starting.
I couldn’t even get past the first few sentences before what you said showed how little you think of others.

This is just spot on.
It's a struggle for everyone!
Yes nurses worked in the pandemic (it's your literal job) but so did lots and lots of people. Yes nurses deserve a payrise. As does everyone.
All this 20 per cent real terms pay cut.. again the same for everyone. No working people got a pay rise in line with inflation and if you rely on benefits you're even more fucked.
I earn 34k and I'm not relying on a foodbank?! Plenty of people who earn less are not relying on foorbanks.
All the points above about childcare and housing are absolutely relevant and that's what needs to change.

 

[anotheronebitesthedust.1]

I understand why they are going on strike and really hope they get better pay and conditions but I’m also not convinced striking will solve anything. Look at all the rail strikes we’ve had this year- and it’s still not resolved. Striking just feels like it has implications on the wrong people. My family have been in and out of hospital this year and it’s been terrifying enough with backlogs, shortages and really basic planning/ communication problems (probably a symptom of lack of people). The people it impacts are regular people, not the people in charge who can just go elsewhere.

Understand where you are coming from , but rail companies have had many strikes over the years but this is a historic first for nurses. In order for the nhs to survive , something has to give . Everything is going up in costs but not the wages . Nurses are leaving in thousands to go work for agencies where we can get paid £30/40 a hour which will leave nhs soooo understaffed . The threat of striking has worked for Scotland , they’ve jsut recieived an offer of 7.5% in the last few days

 

[Rosie glow]

O

To be honest there is little comparison between a retail worker and a nurse. Nurses are degree educated, skilled professionals, and the pay structure absolutely does not reflect the diversity of the modern nursing profession and the complexity of modern medical practice. Nurses are also a captive workforce, there are few opportunities to work as a nurse outside of the NHS, although they exist they are limited and not comparable to NHS work. Ultimately the government needs nurses, doctors, paramedics etc and needs to be prepared to pay for them and if those professional groups feel they are not being paid properly then the pay of other groups like retail workers is totally irrelevant.
Working conditions for NHS staff are absolutely fucking awful right now and if you haven’t experienced it yourself I honestly don’t think many can imagine it. Retail work is grim too but it just does not compare and ultimately if you don’t like working for one company you can leave but the NHS is shit everywhere. Changing those conditions is not going to happen overnight whereas pay *restoration* could, because what nurses are asking for is effectively pay restoration for 10-12 years of pay degradation. Who is going to want to be a nurse right now? Hospitals are dangerous places to be.

I Work in retail I'm not comparing myself to a qualified nurse but I have 11 qualifications in different fields does that make me better than someone who cleans toilets for a living ? No it doesn't and being a nurse doesn't make you better than me.
Us as retail staff and many other workers worked throughout the pandemic too we didn't have any ppe we were put at risk too we just got on with it Where would the country of been with out us then, we got nothing out of it no pay rise.

 

[Emsie]

Do you really think they really want 19%? Would you open your negotiations with your final offer? It's always been a starting point and they have since said they'd be happy with the same offer they've had in Wales.
The fact remains that staffing is going to remain at a critical level unless the job is made more appealing.
---

Also I think the only ones depicting anyone as saints are the ones saying nursing is a vocation and they should do it for the love of it, regardless of pay and conditions.
Nursing is a profession, a job, and it should be treated like any other.
Retail workers (and all other minimum wage earners) have actually had pretty decent pay rises from the Tories, with the introduction of the living wage and the raising of the tax free threshold. Why should public sector workers always bear the brunt of everything?

Wait whaaat? So retail workers can absolutely live on minimum wage but a nurse cannot live on approx 33k and uses a foodbank?! Make it make sense for the love of god.