A third strike in the ongoing NHS pay dispute takes place on Monday 23 January. UNISON members working in the ambulance service in five regions will be walking out, as well as staff in hospitals across Liverpool.
But before getting into how you can show your support, it’s important to note that there are strict legal provisions and a statutory code of practice around who can picket and how pickets are run.
It’s vital to make sure legal requirements and patient safety are maintained, and UNISON regional offices will be working with striking branches to manage invitations and arrangements for visitors to their pickets.
So please don’t go to picket lines unless invited by striking branches.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still support the strikers, so here are five ways.
1.#PutNHSPayRight
Use our template tweet, but don’t be scared to give it a personal touch!
Follow #PutNHSPayRight on twitter, get involved on Facebook, retweet and repost striking branches as well as UNISON’s national and regional accounts.
2. Honk those horns – and share our video
While you may not be able to join the official pickets, if you happen to be walking or driving past as part of your day, you can still show your support, honk your horns or give them a cheer, we’re sure they’ll appreciate it.
3. Share our graphics
Make sure to use our graphics, if you want your support to pop, with shapes and sizes to suit all the social channels.
4. Write to your MP
This is an issue that the government can fix, if it chooses to. Write to your MP using our template letter to tell them to support the campaign and put pressure on the government to put NHS pay right and fix our NHS.
5. Keep up to date
Make sure to follow our live feed on Monday. We’ll be posting updates from all over the country all day so you can follow along – you’ll find the rolling feed on the front-page of the UNISON website.
You can also read a recent blog from a ‘NICE’ member about why they went on strike on Tuesday.