Nobody wants to go on strike. People value work. It’s part of their identity, they take pride in it. And to be forced to resort to strike action is a difficult thing.
It’s the same in any job – but it is particularly tough in nursing. Nursing is a special profession. Low pay, long hours, hard work. And they keep going. Through the pandemic, they risked their lives to keep hospitals going.
Some of the stories that emerged from the front line were beyond harrowing. Issued with faulty equipment, underprepared, the guidance constantly changing. They kept going.
We were urged to bang pots and pans for them. And we assumed they would get their reward. Fair pay.
Everyone knew what they had been through, the sacrifice.
Instead, for the first time in its history, the Royal College of Nursing balloted for strikes. It didn’t want to but no one listened.
The effects have been felt already, with six out of ten routine operations cancelled this week. But in the face of mounting pressure, in spite of absurd Tory attempts to paint nurses as somehow irresponsible, the public are standing by them.
Not just standing by them - donating to make sure they have the support they need.
It’s a clear message to the PM. The public has picked a side. He now has a deadline of Friday to resolve the issue.
The nurses are asking for safe staffing levels, proper patient care and a proper wage. It is difficult to see where the argument is.
A question of will
At the beginning of the pandemic the Government asked councils to “help make sure we get everyone in”. They wanted to make sure every rough sleeper was safe, looked after.
Homelessness was briefly at the top of the agenda. It was unprecedented and showed that when the political will is there, problems can be tackled.
Now the will is gone and freezing weather is putting homeless people in danger.
This is unacceptable in 21st century Britain. The Government must rediscover its appetite to care for these vulnerable people before more die.
