'We refuse to accept poor pay'

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Striking NHS workers in London May Day pay protest march

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023

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Striking health workers were joined by hundreds of protestors at a May Day NHS demo in London outside St Thomas’ Hospital on Monday (May 1) to collectively demand a decent pay rise for NHS staff.

Unite members employed by Guys and St Thomas’ Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, who had begun a first wave of strike action on the Bank Holiday, sent a loud and clear message that a decent pay rise is necessary to save the NHS.

Unite members at South Central, South East Coast and West Midlands ambulance trusts alongside workers at Christies NHS Foundation Trust, Christies Pathology Partnership, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust are striking today (Tuesday, May 2).

The protestors marched from St Thomas’ Hospital to Trafalgar Square to highlight that only a fair pay rise will end the recruitment and retention crisis crippling NHS.

Commenting after Monday’s demonstration, Unite national officer Onay Kasab (pictured below) said, “Unite is at the forefront when it comes to defending the NHS. We refuse to accept poor pay. We refuse to accept the running down of our NHS. That is why NHS workers are joining Unite. We fight and we win.”

Below are highlights from the May Day NHS demo in pictures.