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As health unions announce escalating strikes in New Year...

BACK STRIKES TO SAVE OUR

NHS AND FIGHT FOR FAIR PAY

ILLIONS OF WORKING CLASS

people face another austerity
Christmas, where foodbanks
are on the rise, our services are under
assault and pay is facing sustained
cuts in real terms.
The attack on our NHS as a publicly
funded and accountable health service, and
the devestating cuts it faces at the hands
of the Tories, have been at the heart of the
austerity agenda.
Thats why its cheering news that
around half a million health workers are
set to up the ante in the battle for fair pay
and the future of our NHS with escalating
strikes in the New Year.
Unison, the biggest health worker union,
has announced plans for a national 12 hour
strike on 29 January, followed by a 24 hour
strike on 25 February.
Previous strikes in October and
November involved workers across unions
in health, with a visible presence on picket
lines across the country from Unison,
RCM midwives union, Unite, GMB
and SOR radiographers union. Strikes
exceeded all expectations with big turnouts
at hospitals and NHS workplaces.
Many health workers, as well as
others who face a similar assault on pay,
conditions and services, will be pleased to
see the NHS strikes escalated beyond four
hours. This will make it clear to the Tories,
and Labour who have endoresed the
Tories insulting pay offer, that the strikes
are not just about tokenistic proteststhis
must be a fight to win.

Community

Everyone can do something active to

support the NHS strikes.
During the last action local trade
union and community campaign activists
organised to get down to the picket lines
for solidarity breakfast for the NHS.
Workers from other unions and local
workplaces brought banners, breakfast, and
collections down to show that they saw this
as their fight too.
This buoyed strikers, giving them more
confidence to keep fighting, and to get back
into the workplaces after the strikes and
strengthen union organisation.
The NHS strikes are not just about pay,
although demanding a fair pay rise when
the MPs gave themselves 11 percent is
something everyone can get behind!

NHS strikers have momentum on their side

The action is also about standing up to

defend the NHS from the privatisation
agenda of the Tories and their rich pals.
They want to run down NHS workers
pay and conditions to make the sell off
more attractive to the privateers who want
to rake profits out of our vital services.

Gulf

As the 2015 general election draws nearer,

the gulf between the world of the political
elite and of working class people becomes
more and more stark.
We know what the Tories are about.
They have set out since they grabbed
power in 2010 to undermine the welfare
state and to transform our society further in
the interests of the rich.
Theyve got to go.
But the problem is that Labour does not
offer an alternative.
They promise to stick to Tory spending
plans and to continue with a cuts agenda
that makes working class people pay for
the crisis of the rich.

The Labour leadership have lined up

behind racist Ukip and the Tories on the
question of scapegoating migrants.
Whatever government we end up with,
our unions need to fight to defend workers
interests. It is a shame that some union
leaders have pulled back from leading
national, coordinated resistance, as is the
case in local government and elsewhere.
Now the NHS strikes offer a focus for
the whole movement to get behind and
deliver real solidarity.

Charged

The NHS is a highly polically charged

issue that has led hundreds of thousands
into active opposition to the government,
on the streets as well as the picket lines.
With escalating strikes, we can send a
message to Cameron and Miliband alike
that we will fight to defend our services,
pay and jobs, and also that we are a multicultural society, run by migrant and nonmigrant workers together and we wont be
divided. United we can win.

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