The last year has been incredibly tough for everyone, with the virus leaving no part of everyday life untouched. Our jobs, education, and social lives have all been put on hold or shattered entirely; many have suffered with grief, mental health issues, and the other psychological effects of the pandemic as a result of endless lockdowns and restrictions. Few have been hit harder than NHS staff, the very people placing themselves at risk day in and day out to help us, the public. The term 'NHS Heroes' has sadly fallen cliché to Government PR overuse, but the sentiment, at its core, which motivated the nation to give thanks by clapping as one last year, is still very much alive. Just not, it seems, on Downing Street.
The NHS is one of the few ideas that unites the country as one. In most circles, you will be very hard-pressed to find a dissenting voice, and especially about those who work within it; any criticisms are usually levelled at underfunding issues, which falls at the Government's door (usually unanswered, at least for the past 10 years). It is an unrivalled source of national pride, identity, and always a huge part of any argument involving an American (imagine having to file for bankruptcy every time you catch a cold?). And yet the Government disgraces it with this.
As part of the annual budget, delivered on Wednesday by Chancellor (and likely future PM) Rishi Sunak, a much-anticipated pay rise for those who have worked so unbelievably hard the past year was announced. It amounted to just one measly percent, which when you account for inflation, actually amounts to a CUT in real wages. A nurse, for example, will receive a whopping £3.50 a week extra - whatever will they spend all that money on?
This, sadly, is just another example of public sector underpayment, which has been the trend ever since austerity began in 2010. NHS pay has consistently been below inflation, meaning their real wages have fallen by an average of 7.2%, and combine this with staff number cuts the picture of NHS employment becomes clearer. Staff are overworked due to vacancies (an estimated 100,000 currently), underpaid, and morale was critically low even before the pandemic, with many considering leaving or retiring early. Add to that the immense stresses and strains of COVID-19, the worst health crisis in a century, a poor Government response, and now this. If I worked in the NHS right now, I would be utterly furious.
The NHS pay 'rise' proposed by the Government is insulting. It undermines, ironically, everything that Conservative neoliberal economics stands for - hard work should mean more pay. Of course this never actually comes to pass when you fail to regulate the economy adequately, but that's an issue for another day. NHS staff, and other key workers too, deserve to be rewarded for the incredible hard work they have put in not just this year, but every year. Instead, they are effectively having their pay cut, while many key workers, who are on minimum wage, will see a negligible increase of 2.2% (adjusting for inflation).
How long will we let them tell us that hard work pays off, when they reward it like this? They laugh in the faces of those who deserve more, whilst continuing to line their own pockets. let us not forget, Dominic Cummings has received a £40,000 pay rise this year. Serco, owned by former Tory MP Rupert Soames, the company which was contracted to provide the now infamously shite Track and Trace system, received £37 billion. PPE companies with links to Conservative ministers have been paid millions for faulty equipment, despite having no previous manufacturing credentials. All of this money could have funded a proper pay rise for NHS staff, but the Government insist it is 'the most' they can afford.
Strike action is already being prepared by a nurses' union, who describe the pay increase as "pitiful". A petition to raise salaries of NHS workers by 15% has already reached half a million signatures, meaning the House of Commons must now debate it.
"Protect the NHS" has been a key public health slogan over the course of this pandemic. Perhaps the Government should heed its own advice and finally start showing some compassion for the institution we all care so deeply about, and more importantly the amazing people who keep it going.
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