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As health unions name the date for the next national strike...

ALL OUT FOR FAIR PAY &

OUR NHS: STRIKE 24 NOV
H

EALTH UNIONS HAVE NAMED THE

date for the next national strike
over pay as 24 November. Now its
time to organise for strong action on the
day and to carry on the momentum.
The overall picture from the 13 October
strike was that it was a resounding success.
Despite the fact that it was one of the
wettest days this year, picket lines of 50 or
more were the norm across the country.
The solidarity delivered outside hospitals
was impressive. Thats because millions of
working class people are enraged to see the
Tories slashing NHS jobs and services, with
sweeping cuts, closures and privatisation.
The attack on health workers pay is part
and parcel of this wider agenda. If the Tories
drive down NHS workers pay, they make
our health service more attractive to big
business looking to grab contracts and rake
in profits from vital services.
So the strikes are about standing up for
the future of the NHS too. Health workers
are on the frontline, battling every day to
deliver a vital service as an onslaught of cuts
makes this increasingly difficult.
It is a slap in the face to then be told that
most of us are not even worth the 1 percent
rise. Why shouldnt health workers get the
10 percent rise that the MPs got?

Focus

Its good that union leaders have called the

next national strike and named the date
quickly. This provides the next step for
health workers fighting attacks on pay, but it
also gives a focus for the wider movement.
Across the public sector, workers are
fighting the insulting 1 percent pay offer for
a better pay rise.
Hundreds of thousands of civil service
workers in PCS struck the same week as
health workers. Many local government
workers were angered to be pulled out of the
action for a shoddy offer.
Many are now campaigning for a
rejection of the offer and to rejoin strikes.
Firefighters in the FBU struck this week
for four days in an escalation of their dispute
to defend pensions.
Teachers are still in dispute over attacks
on pay. They struck with a million others on
10 July.
24 November is date that members of
other unions, who are raising the demand for
more action, can now get behind and push
for their unions to strike that day too.

The first national NHS strike over pay was strong, angry and vibrant

It gives health workers a chance to recruit

new members and develop stronger union
organisation inside the workplace to build
on the success of the last strike.
Our unions have to make the NHS
a major political issue in the run up the
general election. Our campaign has to be
impossible for the politicians to ignore.
That means escalating the strikes to
maximise pressure on whatever government
we end up with in 2015. Labour have
promised to stick to Tory cuts and the
current pay offer. We need to keep up the
strikes which have a huge political impact,
and call strikes beyond four hours.

DATE FOR DIARY: SAT 15 NOV

Determined

This Tory government is out to destroy

working class peoples lives in the interests
of the rich. They are determined and we
must be too.
Events in local government, where action
was suspended for a lousy offer, show we
need to put pressure on union leaders to
keep up strikes until we win a real pay rise.
The Unite the Resistance conference
(see right) on 15 November is the place to
discuss, debate and get organised.
Come along and bring workmates: join
discussions on mounting a serious fightback
that can drive back the Tories assault on pay.

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