Josie Bird, NEC member and co-chair of Newcastle City Branch, was showing her support despite being on maternity leave: “I am on maternity leave at the moment, but I couldn’t miss being on the picket line with my son Joseph (6 months), wearing his t-shirt saying ‘My Mummy deserves a decent pension’.
“As a new mother who will be returning to work in January, my pension is really important to me. But I worry about the increased contributions that I am being asked to pay, because with a young family every penny will count.
“Paying an extra 50% in contributions is a massive hike for me. I don’t earn much but I work hard, and I believe that the services provided by me and my public sector colleagues are an essential part in creating a civilised society where the vulnerable are protected. Our employment and our pensions are not a drain on society as we have been portrayed by the government.
“My husband works in the private sector. So for me this fight is not just about public sector pensions but private sector pensions too. We should all have dignity in retirement.
“Everyone deserves a decent pension – at the end of my working life I want to live with dignity and not be fearful of struggling financially.
“I am really angry that this additional contribution will not be going into the Local Government Pension Scheme either, but to the Treasury to pay off the deficit. A deficit which is not of my making and is in effect an additional tax on me as a public sector worker. Why should I have to pay for a crisis that has been created by the Bankers?”
Maddy Nettleship, at the picket line at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, said, “I can’t believe the support we are getting from the general public. Cars have been blowing their horns, people have been wishing us good luck and giving us their support. It shows how much they care about the NHS and the staff that work for it.
“As a nurse that works in the community, I know that the patients I see in their own homes appreciate the care that they receive from the NHS and I am the person that delivers that care to them. They have told me that they support the reason why I am on strike today and that what I will get as my pension is important to me once I retire.
“The job that I do is demanding both physically and mentally. Government ministers are asking me to work longer, pay more and get less.
“I don’t think they have any clue what the reality of this means for those of us doing my job.
“The average pension for a woman in the NHS is only £3,000, hardly gold plated. We are also fighting to ensure proper pensions for everyone both in the public and private sectors. But the support I and my colleagues on the picket line have been given is great, and means so much to me.”