In the Vox Political Article entitled “Here’s why a Decent NHS pay rise will help us all,” Mike Sivier highlights how “Paying NHS staff more money will improve the UK’s economy massively. That’s the educated opinion of Tax Research UK’s Richard Murphy, and who are we to argue with him?” If only our politicians would review Murphys sound common sense, Sivier says “In his latest a video clip, Mr Murphy explains that the Tory government’s decision to offer only a derisory one per cent pay increase, less than the rate of inflation, is actually harmful to its own hope of economic recovery. The Tories have based their offer on a false belief that the NHS does not contribute to the economy. This is easily disproved because a person who is fit and healthy is clearly more able to create profit than somebody who is ill or injured. The benefit to the economy provided by the NHS has actually been measured and it seems that for every £1 invested in the health service, the economy benefits by between £2 and £4.”
Sivier rightly insists “That’s a hell of a markup! Think about it. Most supermarkets operate on the basis of profits between, what, five and 15 per cent, if I recall correctly. This is a profit of up to four hundred per cent. In a nation that badly needs to re-establish its economy after Covid-19, not to mention Brexit, that’s not to be sniffed at, but sniffing at it is exactly what Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and the other Tories are doing. At the moment there are 80,000 staff vacancies in the health service because the wages aren’t enough to compensate for the long hours, stress and heartbreak involved. This, along with the ongoing effects of Covid-19, means that patients aren’t getting the treatment, even the routine work, they need and there is a knock-on effect for the economy because they are being prevented from getting back into it and producing the content of work they should be able to provide at the standard they are expected to.”
Sivier reports on the rediculous Tory defence that quoting the PM “It’s as much as we can give,’ said Boris Johnson. But this is sheer short-sightedness. A five per cent pay rise, as suggested by Mr Murphy, would pay for itself as the benefits spread through the economy.” He says “This Writer is left wondering whether Johnson is deliberately sabotaging the health service in order to make privatisation more acceptable; if it can’t recruit staff, then perhaps it should be handed over to private firms. The trouble with that is, private firms won’t pay any better because they’ll be busily grubbing for profits for their shareholders and they won’t provide the service the NHS offers because most people simply won’t be able to afford their prices. So the economy will suffer a much greater downturn as increasing numbers of people fall into illnesses from which they simply won’t be able to get up.”
Sivier warns “It is economic idiocy. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s Mr Murphy” he says providing the latest Murphy Video for our viewing. He admits that there is “One part of the clip that I don’t understand is where he says the NHS is perceived to be free. It isn’t and never has been. Originally, the cost of the service was said to be paid by National Insurance. Nowadays I think that is not true, or certainly not as true as in the past. Much of the cost is now said to come from general taxation (although we know that tax doesn’t actually work like that; the money taken back by the government is more correctly said to be recycled into use to pay for the NHS). Either way, the NHS is at least partially supported with payments from the general public. It isn’t free and never has been. Isn’t it funny how that disappears from the minds of politicians whenever it becomes convenient?”
In the London Economic Article entitled “NHS: Government’s own impact assessment shows 1% would hit BAME and Women workers hardest” Joe Mellor says that “This damning document proves that this paltry offer would hit the living standards of women workers and minority groups hardest. What is more, it proves that Ministers knew this and went ahead anyway. 80 per cent of workers affected by the NHS 1 per cent pay recommendation are women, according to the Treasury’s public sector pay Equality Impact Assessment released by GMB Union. It comes as a senior Government minister has said he hopes NHS staff will be given an ‘appropriate’ pay rise this year. The Government is facing a furious outcry after calling for a headline increase of just 1 per cent in its submission last week to the NHS pay review body. Ministers have argued that it was all that could be afforded following the massive hit to the public finances caused by the pandemic at a time when most public sector workers were facing a pay freeze.”
Mellor reports that “Justice Secretary Robert Buckland appeared to strike a more conciliatory note, saying that the submission to the pay review body was only the ‘beginning of a process’. ‘The final recommendations have not yet been made,’ he told BBC Breakfast. ‘We have got to remember that in large other swathes of the public sector there will be a pay freeze save for the lowest paid. I don’t think at the moment we are at the end of this process. I think that we need to see what the recommendations are, and I very much hope that the outcome, whilst it might not be an outcome in these difficult circumstances that will result in pay rises that everybody would want to see, that the work that has been done by NHS workers will be recognised in a way that is appropriate, bearing in mind the constraints we are all under. ‘It is not for me to start to prejudge what the outcome of the negotiations is. I am simply pointing out that we are at the beginning of that process and we will have to see what the recommendations are.”
According to Mellor “A Treasury Equality Impact Assessment seen by Ministers found that their policies on NHS pay would disproportionately affect women and BAME workers, new documents reveal. The news comes against a backdrop of growing anger against the Government’s 1 per cent pay recommendation for NHS workers in England after a year of the coronavirus pandemic. The paper, which was compiled by civil servants in November for the Comprehensive Spending Review, was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, is being released by GMB Union which represents NHS workers. According to the assessment, ‘women are relatively overrepresented in the NHS workforce compared to the [wider] public sector.’ 80 per cent NHS workers are women, the analysis found.”
Mellor reports that “Almost a quarter (23 per cent) of NHS workers are members of an ethnic minority, the Treasury said. The Equality Impact Assessment said that ‘Asian and Asian British workers are relatively overrepresented in the NHS workforce when compared to the [wider] public sector. In particularly, 8% of the NHS workforce identify as Asian or Asian British whereas only 1% of the public sector identify as Asian or Asian British. In addition, there is a smaller proportion of individuals that identify as White in the NHS workforce relative to the [wider] public sector.”’ He says that “the 1 per cent recommendation, which would be a pay cut in real terms, contradicts a statement in the Treasury’s internal document that the Government would ‘exclude all members of the NHS workforce from public sector pay restraint’.” This is the reality of the hidden Tory Government agenda of ‘Decimating Down!’
Mellor notes that “Inflation this year is projected at 1.5 per cent (CPI) or 2.5 per cent (RPI) by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility. The Treasury said that it had not been able to assess whether its pay policies would have a disproportionate impact on the characteristics of ‘marital status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and maternity,’ which are protected under the Equality Act. Despite these limitations, the Equality Impact Assessment concluded that ‘the government does not consider that the implementation of public sector pay restraint over the spending review period will result in any unjustified differential impact.’
The Treasury was criticised in November by the Women’s Budget Group for failing to carry out meaningful impact assessments, who said that ‘women and minority groups have experienced the worst impacts of the pandemic, in part due to the failure to do proper EIAs [Equality Impact Assessments]’.”
Mellor reports that “Rachel Harrison, GMB National Officer, said: ‘The Government must U-turn on its disgraceful plan to impose a real-terms pay cut on NHS workers. This damning document proves that this paltry offer would hit the living standards of women workers and minority groups hardest. What is more, it proves that Ministers knew this and went ahead anyway. Our NHS workers have risked everything to keep us safe during the coronavirus outbreak, now they deserve a real pay rise after a decade of austerity and real terms cuts to pay. Many of our members are struggling to make ends meet. Ministers should do the decent thing and mark the week of International Women’s Day by changing course and setting out plans for a real pay rise for all NHS workers.” We must aggressively contest the Tory deceitful ‘lev…up’ lie by totally removing this Fake News myth from all public discourse.
In the London Economic Article entitled “‘Spineless’ Matt Hancock fails to face MPs over 1% NHS pay rise proposal” Joe Mellor points out that “A Junior Minister was sent instead… Health Secretary Matt Hancock has swerved questions from MPs over the recommendation to give NHS workers in England a 1% pay rise. Junior health minister Helen Whately was sent in his place to respond to an urgent question from Labour. Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth had demanded Mr Hancock appear in the House of Commons to make a statement on the recommendations. Peter Stefanovic Tweeted: ‘Spineless Health Secretary Matt Hancock hasn’t even bothered to turn up to answer urgent questions today on NHS pay, sending Social Care Minister Helen Whately instead.’ He said: ‘I am grateful for the minister (Ms Whately), but where is the Secretary of State? Why isn’t the Secretary of State here to defend a Budget that puts up tax for hard-working family and cuts pay for hard-working nurses?”
Mellor stressed the points raised “The Secretary of State has stood at that despatch box repeatedly waxing lyrical, describing NHS staff as heroes, saying they are the very best of us, and now he is cutting nurses’ pay. Last summer, when asked by Andrew Marr if nurses deserved a real-terms pay rise, he replied, ‘well, of course, I want to see people properly rewarded, absolutely’ and yet now he is cutting nurses’ pay.’ Ahead of the urgent question, Downing Street declined to rule out a one-off bonus for NHS workers amid continued anger over the pay recommendation. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We have been clear that we think the 1% pay rise is what is affordable. I’m not going to comment on speculation. We’ve set out what we think is affordable, it’s now for the pay review body to look at that and look at the other evidence and come forward with their recommendation.” Of course ‘affordability’ is contingent on the public continuing to believe in the deliberate Tory lie that the UK is in debt to the tune of £300Bn!
Meanwhile that precious, heavily guarded, ‘Magic Money Tree’ is being carefully nurtured in the plush garden of Number 10! Forget Quantitive Easing to inject cash into circulation for the benefit of everyone in the UK; the PM has a few political favours to pay off. But, in typical despotic fashion, new PR frills are necessary to increase the naked narcissist Emporer’s personal aggrandizement; plus his supreme status demands lavishly increased opulence and comfort for his ‘love nest’ with Carrie. At Vox Political online Mike Sivier remarked “After £2.6m ‘TV studio’, Johnson’s £9m ‘situation room’ is adding insult to injury! Seriously? Some prime ministers would have taken the hint after a £2.6 million TV studio attracted flak, first as a white elephant vanity project that was built only to gather dust, and then when it was announced alongside a meagre one per cent pay rise for NHS staff. Not Boris Johnson!”
Sivier reports that the PM “…has decided to announce a further £9 million ‘situation room’ to be used as a command centre during emergencies like terror attacks and disease epidemics. What’s wrong with Cabinet Office Briefing Room ‘A,’ the eponymous ‘COBRA’? That is, what’s wrong with it apart from the fact that Johnson seems allergic to the place? It took months for anybody to entice him into it when the Covid-19 pandemic first struck. But here’s a thing: There’s no reason to believe Johnson will darken the doors of this new facility, should an emergency occur. He’s far more likely to run away again like the coward he is. This is money for old rope, far better spent on developments the UK needs. This is not the time for Johnson’s over-expensive vanity projects. Someone should have the guts to tell him.” Instead the BBC are hyping-up ‘Boris’s Burrow,’ another costly, hair-brained scheme for connecting Ireland to the mainland via a minefield! Well, there’s a lot more space to hide in a tunnel than an industrial size fridge!
As the debate over this contentious pay issue heats up the public are even more outraged by a really disgusting display of ‘Nasty Party’ meanness from one hereditary Tory peer, who demonstrated just how much the wealthy elite detest allowing the meagrest crumbs of well earned compensation to fall from their bulging banquet table of obscene neocon profiteering. In another London Economic Article entitled “Hereditary Tory peer claims nurses have ‘enviable’ job security amid pay backlash’ Henry Goodwin highlighted the fact that ‘Health minister Lord Bethell, who is entitled to sit in the House of Lords until his death, defended the pay proposal, blasted as ‘paltry’ by health unions, because NHS workers have ‘secure jobs’. A hereditary Tory peer has defended the government’s planned 1 per cent pay rise for the NHS by claiming that nurses have job security that many would ‘envy’.”
Goodwin elaborates on just who this ‘Lord’ is “A former journalist, nightclub owner and Conservative donor, James Bethell the 5th Baron Bethell joined the House of Lords in 2018, after successfully contesting a hereditary peers’ by-election. Legislation removed all but 92 hereditary peers in 1999. Vacancies that result from death, retirement or resignation are now filled through a so-called by-election. In an electorate of 47, Lord Bethell won with 26 votes. Despite taking an unpaid ministerial role, Lord Bethell can claim more than £300 in allowances for attending the House, and can also claim travel expenses and subsidised restaurant deals. Defending the 1 per cent figure, he said: ‘There are millions of people out of work out of the back of this pandemic. There are lots of people who have had an extremely tough time and who face a period of unemployment.”
Goodwin reported that Lord Bethel had continued his attack by saying “’Nurses are well-paid for the job. They have a secure job and they have other benefits. There are many people in this country who look upon professional jobs within the NHS with some envy and we shouldn’t forget the fact that some public sector jobs are, in fact, extremely well-paid.’ Lord McNicol of West Kilbride, Labour’s former general secretary, responded: ‘Government ministers have time and time again stated that supporting nurses is a top priority, but as unions have pointed out an offer that amounts to £3.50 a week looks more like a kick in the teeth than a top priority. ‘Nurses and other healthcare professionals have had to work in some of the most difficult, demanding and dangerous circumstances and they have done so with astonishing care, compassion and commitment. ‘The government has got this badly wrong and I urge them to reconsider their meagre, miserly, measly 1 per cent’.”
In the Canary Article entitled “NHS worker fined £10,000 for organising protest against 1% pay rise,” they exposed the shocking news that “Police have fined the organiser of a nurses’ protest in Manchester £10,000 after shutting down the demonstration against the NHS pay rise. The protesters gathered in Manchester city centre on 7 March said officers told them they would be fined for violating coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions if they didn’t leave. Unison maintained that the protest, against the government’s 1% pay rise for NHS staff, was safe and socially distanced. Police said about 40 people attended the demonstration in the centre of Manchester, organised by a 61-year-old NHS worker. Another NHS worker, 65, was arrested after initially refusing to leave or provide details when police broke up the demonstration. She was later de-arrested and fined £200.”
The Canary report that “As protesters were told to leave, mental health worker and Unison rep Karen Reissmann addressed the demonstrators: Unfortunately the police have told us we can’t proceed with this despite what’s going on in the health service.
We’ve been told we will not be able to go ahead with this, I’ll be fined and reported to my employer and disciplined and people here will be fined as well, so we will therefore be shutting it down. I think we’ve made the point we wanted to make, we sent a message to the government. I think it’s outrageous that somehow this is deemed illegal when the size of the crowd here will be ten times bigger in hundreds and thousands of schools tomorrow morning. This isn’t about safety, this is about the government trying to stamp down on protest which I think is a dying shame. The health service will lose out. 1% pay rise. There has been widespread outrage over the Department of Health and Social Care’s recommendation that NHS staff receive only a 1% pay rise.”
The Canary report that “NHS Providers said the long-term funding plan for the NHS, set out by the government, had assumed a pay rise of 2.1% for 2021-22. The Royal College of Nursing is supporting members who want to strike following the pay rise. It has set up at £35m industrial action fund. Unison has also urged people to protest outside their houses on 11 March at 8pm by doing a slow clap. Labour has argued the pay rise amounts to a ‘real terms cut’, and some Conservative backbenchers have also criticised the proposal. Public gatherings have been banned under lockdown restrictions, but some have raised concerns that the right to protest may be under threat as the UK returns to normal. According to Netpol, the government is seeking to amend the Public Order Act in 2021” Under cover of Covid the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship want to introduce their ‘new norma’ of authoritarian oppression that will remain in place for the foreseeable future under one excuse or another: we must not allow this to happen.
The Canary warns that “Netpol said the proposed changes could lead to increased police powers to control protests. It called for the protection of the right to protest, citing evidence from 25 campaign groups that were overwhelmingly in favour of stronger protections on protests.” The police can easily move in and make arrests at small protests, but when the outrage over Government corruption reaches a fever pitch of civil unrest and we all take to the streets on mass the police will require army backup to enforce the authoritarian power of the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship. We should have challenged and demanded full Investigation of the unfathomable result in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election; that success just emboldened the Tories to increase the level of corrupt profiteering and squandering of public funds. There’s more than enough evidence of corruption to remove the Tories from office but we must summon the courage to fight back, protest and challenge them in Court or we will not rescue our democracy for decades! DO NOT MOVE ON!