First NHS walk-out in 32 years supported by Sinn Féin

» Peadar Whelan

Half-day strike and the start of a work-to-rule comes after the Tory-led Government at Westminster denied workers a 1% pay rise recommended by the NHS pay review body.

SINN FÉIN West Belfast MP Paul Maskey joined protesting workers from the Unite trade union on the picket line outside Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital on Monday in a pay dispute provoked by the Westminster Government.

The half-day strike and the start of a work-to-rule – the first NHS walk-out in 32 years – comes after the Tory-led Government denied the workforce a 1% pay rise recommended by the NHS pay review body.

“People deserve to be paid a living wage,” said Paul Maskey as he spoke to Union representatives Jimmy McGrath and David Moorhead.

After an hour garnering public support on the picket line, the striking workers travelled to Stormont to lobby MLAs.

• Unite trades union representatives from the Royal Victoria Hospital, Jimmy McGrath and David Moorhead

• NHS workers call for a living wage