On Sunday, UNISON led thousands in protest at the start of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
UNISON members in the North West, who have been fighting on the front line of public service cuts for the past decade, led protestors with balloons and banners stating “Don’t Trump our NHS”.
Members in the North West are currently involved in two industrial disputes, with hospital workers in Blackpool and St Helens currently in the midst of three-day strikes.
UNISON regional Secretary Kevan Nelson said: “The two industrial disputes which our members are engaged in currently are a direct result of the damaging austerity and outsourcing agenda pursued by Tory governments throughout the last decade.
“In both cases, workers who would have previous been employed directly by a council or the health service have seen their pay and working conditions eroded after being outsourced.
“Our members working for Compass are asking for a pay rise of less than £1 per hour, and yet the multi-national behemoth, which made £1.7bn in profit last year, refuses to pay up.
“We can and will win these disputes. But make no mistake, these workers should never have faced this hardship and it is only a change of Government which can turn the tide on outsourcing, privatisation and cuts.”
Around five thousand people attended the march.
