NHS workers protest in Newcastle over pay

Dozens of health workers have staged a protest in Newcastle, calling on the Government to ensure equal pay rises across the NHS.

Those taking part said they had made huge sacrifices during the pandemic, but said that had not been reflected in their wages.

The group assembled outside the Royal Victoria Infirmary before marching to Times Square. The route of the protest had been modified in order to ensure social distancing.One healthcare assistant, Claire McDonough told us she and her colleagues have been ignored.

Last month, the Government accepted the recommendations of an independent pay review body, and awarded doctors and dentists a pay rise of 2.8 per cent. It points out that other employees, such as nurses and care workers, are covered by different pay structures. In a statement it told us:

"We are incredibly grateful for the hard work and dedication of all our health and care staff during the pandemic, and we will continue to ensure all staff are rewarded fairly. We are committed to supporting our NHS and everyone working in it, and we recently announced a further £3 billion for the NHS in addition to the record cash funding boost of £33.9 billion extra by 2023/24 we are already providing."

"The Agenda for Change deal has delivered year-on-year pay increases for our valued NHS staff, including increasing the starting salary for a newly qualified nurse by over 12 per cent."