STAFF at the Belfast Trust have walked out on Wednesday afternoon in a dispute over pay and the increasing privatisation of the health service.
 
Members of Unison, Unite, the Royal College of Nursing, BMA and Nipsa joined picket lines outside a number of Belfast Trust sites including the Royal Victoria Hospital to demand a pay rise which meets the rising cost of living.
 
Speaking at the picket line, Unison’s RVH and Muckamore Branch Secretary Conor McCarthy said that members were out to demonstrate against the Pay Review Boards and in particular the 4.5 per cent offered to nurses.
 
“We believe that the Department for Health could and should do better. They should meet workers to actually try and bring about a pay rise that takes into account the cost of living crisis that we are in," he said.
 
“Not only is it causing a serious decline in workers' mental health because they are trying to figure out how to pay their bills and keep up with the cost of living.
 
“Our members are using food banks just as much as anybody else. There should be no such term as the working poor but these are the working poor and this is unacceptable."

Discussing the increasing use of private agencies to deliver nursing staff, Conor said his concern is that nursing will end up how domiciliary care is delivered.
 
“The Trusts are playing a huge amount of money on private agencies. This is causing a massive impact on budgets. It is also casualising and privatising the workforce. Nursing is becoming more privatised as the days and weeks go on.
 
“It is going to turn into something like what is reflected in domiciliary care where we have multiple providers.
 
“In our hospitals now we have dozens of different employers who are agencies and that is really damaging to the NHS as it doesn’t provide for a stable workforce.”

Outside the Royal Victoria Hospital on the Falls Road today
2Gallery

Outside the Royal Victoria Hospital on the Falls Road today


 

Staff on the picket line were joined by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll who told us that those he had spoken to were angry at the situation they were facing.
 
“We are seeing reports that inflation is going to be 18 per cent by the start of next year. These workers have had a real term pay cut by the Minister of Health, backed by his Executive colleagues who are opposed to those trying to oppose the Pay Review Body offer which is below inflation.
 
“We have heard honey words from the Minister who has said that without these workers we couldn’t have navigated through Covid.
 
“Now is the time for him to put his money where his mouth is and to offer these workers more than what is being offered. Anything less is a dereliction of his duty to stand up for healthcare workers.”

Mr Carroll also commended staff from across the unions standing together against the privatisation of the health service.
 
“We are seeing an increase in the private healthcare industry at the same time the NHS is at breaking point. That shouldn’t be allowed to continue and shouldn’t be facilitated," he said.
 
“We need to make sure that our NHS is properly and adequately funded to insure that the waiting list can be reduced rather than people being forced to go privately if they want to be seen quickly which is quite obscene.”

Also on the picket line was Sinn Féin MP for West Belfast Paul Maskey who was joined by party colleagues.