‘It’s the workers who are the NHS’ says Eamonn McCann ahead of May Day

He said the critical importance of the front-line workers who man our hospitals, GP practices, care homes and other medical and social care centres, has been driven home by the COVID-19 crisis.

“The well-being of all of us depends on the labour of doctors, nurses, cleaners, physios, care workers, porters, lab assistants, ambulance drivers, etcetera, etcetera.

“Without the workers, nothing works. It is this which makes May Day - International Workers’ Day - relevant to the crisis in the NHS.”

Colr. McCann said he was delighted Derry City and Strabane Council backed a People Before Profit motion to light up the Guildhall and other civic buildings red to mark International Workers’ Day.

He said: “Trades unionists and others will make five minutes noise at six o’clock on Friday, in tribute to the workers who have generally taken the biggest hit and borne the heaviest burden of the pandemic. I urge all who have rallied to the support the NHS to take part.

“The most glaring fact to emerge from the statistics is that the poorer you are the more likely you are to be struck down by the disease or to die from it. When we say ‘we are not all in this together’ we are not making a political point but simply referring to the facts. Workers keep the system running while suffering the worst effects.”

He called for all care workers to be brought back under the aegis of the NHS and to be paid a wage reflecting the critical work they do.

“Most are paid below the Living Wage. How can this be tolerated for a minute longer?” he asked.