Healthcare unions have started a movement demanding a pay rise for all the years of unnoticed service and determination in their fields of work. Anika Khan reports.
Lockdowns have opened up stark realities to understand the people who are essential for our society to function from the bin collectors to cleaners, delivery workers to health workers in the front line. It has also been revealed how these essential workers who were not able to work from home had the worst- paid wages in the UK.
Over the past few weeks the lockdowns have eased down in the UK and the government is trying to get things back to normal by rushing people back to work, and, opening businesses and schools. These unions believe that the tributes that were paid to the health and essential workers for their hard work would be forgotten in no time.
It is likely that the government will not cooperate efficiently with the trade unions that have been raising voices demanding financial support, schemes, and a rise in pay wages for the working class in this country.
The Labour party leader Keir Starmer has said that the keyworker needs to be recognized and valued and the government should give them a better reward. In his victory speech in April, he said that the key workers were last and now they should be first”.
Moreover, a few sectors have been severely affected by small budgets and staff shortages. NHS has been facing a permanent winter crisis and the workers badly need pay rises to cop up.
Unions need to stand in solidarity for a battle for higher pay, using the pandemic to make the new settlements with the government. These demands need to receive back up by both public and private organizations. The public should wholeheartedly support these agendas.
