NHS workers' union pay bus to visit West Suffolk hospitals, in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket, today
An NHS pay bus tour of the East of England will roll into West Suffolk today, with hospital stops in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket.
The open-top bus has been commissioned by NHS workers’ union, Unison.
The tour is part of Unison's campaign for a £2,000 pay rise for all NHS staff and is calling the Prime Minister to deliver the rise to give the NHS a boost.
Unison Eastern head of health Sasha Savage said: "An NHS pay rise is already months overdue but still Boris Johnson is dragging his feet.
"Even without the year-and-a-half-long pandemic sacrifice, NHS staff would deserve more.
"We have all seen the gratitude the public has shown to the NHS and its staff through Covid, but it’s time for ministers to move beyond empty rhetoric and give staff a proper pay rise.”
The union said NHS staff were supposed to get a rise in April but workers are still waiting to see what increase the independent pay review body will recommend.
On the subject, a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care, said: "We are incredibly grateful to all our NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.
"This year the government has committed to providing a pay uplift for NHS staff, when uplifts across the public sector have been paused, to acknowledge the extraordinary effort of NHS staff through the pandemic.
“We recognise the recommendations from the pay review bodies are an incredibly important issue and we will carefully consider them before responding.”
The bus will be at West Suffolk Hospital from 9.30am to 11am, Bury Ambulance Station between 11.10am and 12 noon and at Newmarket between 12.45pm and 2.15pm.
For the full bus timetable, click here.
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