Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

NHS workers demand Government ‘stop clapping and start paying’ in mass protests

NHS workers who put their life on the line during the coronavirus pandemic have demanded Boris Johnson ‘stop clapping and start paying’ as they marched in the streets calling for better pay.

Hundreds of healthcare workers marched down Oxford Street, central London, Manchester, Brighton and Bristol as they highlighted the coronavirus death toll among NHS staff.

They donned scrubs stained with fake blood and chanted ‘640 healthcare workers dead, blood on their hands’ along side images of the prime minister.

The march followed two minutes of silence for fallen NHS workers.

The protest comes after nurses were excluded from a public sector pay rise in July.

Nurses slammed the decision as a ‘slap in the face’ while they were dealing with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Alia Butt, 33, a psychotherapist from Essex, reminded Mr Johnson that nurses saved his life after he became infected with coronavirus and yet they still had to fight for a pay rise.

She said: ‘We have simply had enough. The money is there.



‘The Government clearly has not got a clue about what it is doing and that is very scary. Nurses saved the lives of the prime minister. What more do we need to do to get paid properly? It’s bizarre.’

Jordan Rivera, 43, an occupational therapist in Hackney, said NHS staff were physically drained after spending the last six months on the Covid-19 frontline.

He said: ‘Working that hard when you are already exhausted from fighting the pandemic is an outrage.

‘How can we be expected to work through a second wave when we are physically and emotionally exhausted and on top of that, we are worried about paying our bills?’

Unite said NHS workers should get a 15% pay rise or £3,000 – whichever is greater.

The union said the claim would ‘restore the pay that NHS workers have lost in the decade of austerity since 2010’.

However, the Department of Health and Social Care said a three-year pay deal was helping all NHS staff.

A spokesman said: ‘We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our frontline staff, particularly during the pandemic.

‘NHS staff are currently benefiting from the final year of a three-year pay deal, agreed with trade unions, which has delivered year-on-year pay increases, such as increasing the starting salary for a newly qualified nurse by 12% by 2021.

‘The independent NHS Pay Review Body makes recommendations to Government on pay increases for NHS staff, including nurses, and we will consider their advice when we receive it, while continuing to listen to our valued staff and the trade unions to ensure everyone is rewarded fairly.’

GMB union disputed a claim workers benefited from the deal, arguing that conditions had been ‘driven down for years’.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×