Healthcare studentsnurses, midwives, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, podiatrists, radiographers, dietetics, ODPsand junior doctors are at the forefront of the battle to defend our NHS and we offer them our full support in their current campaigns. Healthcare students are organising for a national demonstration on 9 January to stop an attack on their bursaries. Meanwhile, junior doctors are still in dispute over plans to cut their unsocial hours payments. Their 98 percent strike vote and massive protests, with up to 30,000 marching in London, are an inspiration to us all. As is the response by student nurses and other NHS students who are building a movement to defend NHS bursaries. Both these battles are about the future of our health service. Austerity by the end of this government will have taken 35 billion every year from the NHS budget. Vacancies go unfilled, all hospital and community services are stretched beyond breaking point. NHS staff work two
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or three peoples jobs, staying late, missing breakstrying
to do our best their patients in increasingly difficult times. They have had a pay freeze for 5 years with 5 more years promised, cuts to pensions, increased contribution, working age increased from 60 to 68. Staff are demoralised and angry about the impact that the Tory austerity package is having, threatening the very existence of the NHS. Proposals over unsocial hours, to stretch 5 days staff over 7 days, paying each one less, will not improve anything for patients. The bursary cut will price many out of the ability afford to study to work in our NHS, burdening those who want to support our NHS with huge debt, while they actually work 50 percent of their course on placement! All NHS workers face attacks on pay and on unsocial hours down the line, with a catastrophic impact on patient care. Thats why we have no hesitation in giving NHS students and junior doctors our complete support and believe we should be with them in their protests and strikes to stop the Tory destruction of our NHS and its staff.
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*Petition initiated by health workers across unions, workplaces and departments.