Nurses to join London march against NHS pay restraint and service closures

Nurses will join the public and other healthcare professionals in London on Saturday in support of the NHS. 

The It’s Our NHS demonstration will see crowds march to the Houses of Parliament for a rally to protest against NHS pay restraint and service closures.

RCN members will carry a banner through the streets of the capital and hold #scrapthecap signs, in reference to the current 1% cap on pay rises for nurses and other healthcare professionals. 

Union support

They will be joined by trade union Unite, whose general secretary Len McCluskey will speak at the event, as well as Unison, the British Medical Association and other trade unions and campaign groups.  

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell are also due to speak at the event.

The march will start at Tavistock Square in central London at 1pm. 

RCN members are due to meet outside Woburn House, opposite Tavistock Square Gardens, at 11am.

'Breaking point'

The event has been organised by Health Campaigns Together and The People’s Assembly Against Austerity, which say the NHS is at 'breaking point', and claim that private companies are gaining more of a stake in the health service. 

The organisers have also criticised the government’s sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), warning that they could lead to hospital and service closures.

They also are calling for an end to pay restraint, which they argue has seen the value of NHS salaries reduce by 14% since 2010.

An NHS England spokesperson said: 'STPs are about making practical, common-sense changes in areas that really matter to patients, such as making it easier to see a GP and speeding up cancer diagnosis.

'Those suggesting it is about privatisation have got the wrong end of the stick.'

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