NHS staff have to work harder to ‘justify’ more pay, Steve Barclay tells furious unions
IndependentAPR 2023
The Spin
Left narrative
Not only have nurses and frontline workers borne the brunt of the pandemic, they now face a government trying to nickel-and-dime them out of a necessary and well-deserved pay increase. Even worse, while dealing with record-high inflation and a buckling healthcare system. Public sector wages have stagnated profoundly under conservative governance. This unacceptable exploitation of essential workers needs to stop.
Right narrative
Unions must face the fact that every day they stay on the picket line puts the lives of countless Britons at risk. The government is scrambling to find solutions to the economic crisis sparked by COVID and inflation, as well as the market destabilization induced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The unions are simply not playing fair by ignoring the reality of current economic circumstances — this is a safety issue.