Public urged to join ironic ‘slow handclap’ tonight to protest the 1% NHS pay rise

People are being urged to join an ironic ‘slow handclap’ tonight, in protest against the government’s proposed pay rise for health workers.

The public are being encouraged to take to their doorsteps and balconies this evening, to show their anger at the controversial proposed pay rise of 1% for NHS workers.

The action has been backed by health unions and the TUC, and is part of a wider campaign to achieve an increase in pay for health workers.

There’s been widespread anger about the government’s recommendation of a 1% pay increase as part of its submission to the NHS Pay Review Body.

Tonight’s clap is an ironic take on the weekly Clap for Carers event that the nation undertook last year, to show support for the hard work of health workers during the coronavirus pandemic. 

It’s set to take place at 8pm tonight, Thursday March 11th, as it’s the first anniversary of the World Health Organisation declaring Covid-19 a global pandemic.

The slow handclap will also be repeated in three weeks time, on April 1st, which is the day staff were due to see their next wage increase.

Evelyn Simak / Geograph

Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said: “The Chancellor and the Prime Minister should be ashamed of treating health staff so shabbily. This is the chance for the public to call them out on pay.

“Everyone in the NHS has coped in the toughest conditions this past year. Many have faced the trauma of patients dying, the exhaustion from endless shifts and the strain of chronic understaffing.

“Yet the Government has shown them zero respect for keeping the NHS on its feet. Now let’s give health staff our support this evening by showing the Government exactly what we all think of its 1% proposal.”