UK
“Together we are powerful”: Holly Turner, Keep Our NHS Public, addresses anti-austerity demonstration
“I stand in full solidarity with our doctors, our junior colleagues, our consultants, who are also fighting for pay restoration. We are for the fullest unity across the public sector workforce and beyond, and will not fall for this government’s divisive tactics.”
Holly Turner, NHS Workers Say NO, was amongst the speakers at the People’s Assembly Against Austerity’s national demonstration last Saturday – you can read a published version of her speech below.
Colleagues, friends, allies – I am so proud to stand with you today.
I am a learning disability nurse. I work with some of the most vulnerable people in our society—people whose needs are complex, whose voices are too often ignored.
And today, I stand here not just as a nurse—but as an advocate, and a witness to injustice at the hands of this Labour Government.
Our annual pay award was recently announced, and we are told that 3.6% is all we’re worth. That we, the people holding broken services together, showing up day after day, working with moral injury, forced to deliver sub standard care on unsafe wards, should accept another year of real-terms pay cuts. Wes Streeting, that is not recognition. That is an insult.
And it’s not just our wages they are cutting—it’s the lifelines our patients depend on. Disability benefits are being slashed, leaving families in fear, people isolated, unsupported, pushed further to the margins. It is not just cruel—it is cowardly. You do not balance the books by breaking the backs of those who are already carrying the heaviest loads.
But we are not alone in this fight. I stand in full solidarity with our doctors, our junior colleagues, our consultants, who are also fighting for pay restoration. We are for the fullest unity across the public sector workforce and beyond, and will not fall for this government’s divisive tactics.
To those in power: we are not going away. We are not backing down. You may underestimate our resolve, but hear this loud and clear: workers are the heartbeat of this NHS and we will always fight back.
We are here. We are ready. And we will not stop until care is valued, until disability is respected, and until our pay is restored.
Health workers, now is the time —not just to speak out, but to act. When your ballot arrives, vote to REJECT the insulting pay award. Reject a system that rewards burnout and punishes care.
And to every worker – this fight is yours too. Stand with us, demand the dignity we all deserve. Together, across every sector, we are powerful. Together, we can turn rejection into resistance—and resistance into change.
Solidarity!
- Holly Turner is a founding member of NHS Workers Say NO!- you can follow her on Twitter/X, and NHS Workers Say NO! on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Twitter/X.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
No comments:
Post a Comment