Demonstrators descended on the Cornhill in Ipswich to protest the government’s recent public sector pay freeze and its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chancellor’s Spending Review included pay freeze for all except NHS doctors and nurses, and those earning under £24,000.
Trade unions reacted angrily, with the National Education Union (NEU) calling it a “body blow” and the police federation calling it a “kick in the teeth”.
About a dozen people gathered outside the town hall on Saturday, while a simultaneous demo planned in Lowestoft and also organised by anti-austerity group, Suffolk People’s Assembly.
Retired NEU member, John Kreeger said: “We’ve been pushing a zero-Covid policy aimed at trying to deal with the rate of infection by not lurching between lockdown and release, which has empirically created problems.
“Obviously, it hasn’t been easy to formulate policy around something so new – but the best comparison we can make is with Germany, which has coped much better in terms of fatalities.”
Teresa MacKay, president of Ipswich and District Trade Union Council, called the pay freeze an “insult” to the service workers provided during the pandemic, adding: “They will see a continued fall in living standards when they have already suffered a decade or more of attacks on their pay.
“NHS workers have had enough and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in their campaign for decent pay and conditions.”
Ex-NHS worker Kirsty Youngs said: “If things continue as they are, there will be many more healthcare professionals, like me, who qualified as a midwife in 2013 but had to leave the profession.
“I still 100% support my former colleagues and will stand with them in their fight for fair pay, and for all public sector workers, who have carried this country through the past 10 months.”
A Suffolk NHS Pay Justice Hub spokeswoman added: “We are here today in hopes that our message will reach those in the government, who have the power to make positive lasting and meaningful change to the lives of our children, students, our public sector, key and essential workers of Suffolk.”
The Government said it will provide billions to fight the virus and invest in the UK’s recovery.
The Chancellor said his immediate priority was to protect lives and livelihoods – allocating £55bn to tackle the virus next year.
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