Picket lines formed outside Newcastle's Freeman and Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) hospitals on Thursday as physiotherapists became some of the latest to walk out over pay and working conditions.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) physios staged the first of two strikes today, with a further strike planned for February 9. Physios at the Freeman and RVI were among 4,200 CSP members from 30 trusts to join the strike action.
Jill Taylor, who is a lead regional steward for the CSP in the North East, joined the picket line outside the RVI. She said: "We're on strike against the pay award that the Government have offered us. It's less than half the rate of inflation and it's nowhere near enough for the job that we do.
Read more: North East physio says first ever strike over pay is because workers are 'on their knees'
"It's also nowhere near enough to recruit and retain staff in order for us to meet the NHS demands at the moment. Every staff shortage that we have to face is just not acceptable. There's no way that we're going to be able to meet that demand."
Like other frontline NHS staff, physios have been offered a £1,400 pay rise - which amounts to around three to four per cent. The CSP said this "falls far short of meeting the increased cost of living".
Ms Taylor added: "We've had unwavering support from the public, it's been absolutely amazing and it makes me feel really proud to be defending the NHS because we're not on strike just for us, we're on strike so that we can offer the care that patients need and deserve at their time of need and that's so important to us."
Physios formed picket lines outside the RVI from 8am. They held placards displaying messages such as "Value NHS physio staff #CSP4FairPay", "We demand better" and "RIP NHS Sort it out Rish[i]".
Angie Sollars, a physiotherapist working on the Major Trauma Unit at the RVI, said: "If we don't do something now we might not have an NHS in the future. [The strike] is about pay, but it's also about getting acknowledgement and respect for the job that we do.
"It's a difficult job, a lot of us enjoy our jobs, but it is hard work and we want acknowledgement for that hard work, which we don't feel is that much to ask for."
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that he was not able to "wave a magic wand" to resolve the bitter dispute over pay. He said giving pay rises to striking staff, including ambulance workers and nurses, would lead to money being taken away from "elsewhere in the NHS budget".
However, he insisted that the Government would continue to "engage in dialogue with the unions". He told ITV news: "Taking a step back, of course it would be lovely to be able to wave a magic wand and just give everyone what they were demanding when it came to pay.
"But my job as Prime Minister is to make the right decisions for the country, and they are, more often than not, not easy decisions. But that’s my job, and that’s what I will always do in this job, and… when you think about this, how would we pay for these things? Where’s the money going to come from?"
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