Physiotherapists striking for first time in latest NHS dispute

THOUSANDS of physiotherapists went on strike today for the first time amid worsening industrial disputes across the NHS.

More than 4,000 members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) in 30 trusts walked out for 24 hours in the pay dispute following industrial action by nurses and paramedics in recent weeks.

In London, physiotherapists were striking in nine trusts, including Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Urgent care was still being provided.

Elaine Sparkes, assistant director of employment relations and union services at the CSP, told the Standard: “There are workload pressures and a lack of staff and resources within physiotherapy. This is the last resort for our members — something has to change.

“Many of our more experienced staff are leaving the profession, which is having a big impact on the services we can provide.”

Today’s action will be followed by a second strike by physiotherapists in England on February 9.

This will come just three days after nurses and ambulance workers walk out in what is set to be the biggest NHS strike in history.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said the strikes were “regrettable” and that he would continue to meet with unions to discuss what is “fair and affordable for the 2023/24 pay process”.

Mr Barclay met yesterday with senior officials from the CSP to discuss issues within the profession but there were no negotiations over pay, the union said.

WHILE the French are protesting so vehemently against a raise in their pension age that some of them are getting badly injured by police, on this side of the Channel things are rather different. Our Government is reportedly considering bringing forward a planned rise in the state pension to 68 from 2046 to the 2030s — and our protests aren’t quite so vociferous. Compare that to the French, who are fuming about a rise from 62 to 64 years old.

Of course, everyone understands why the state pension age is going up. As my colleague Melanie McDonagh noted in this column on Tuesday, we’re living far longer than we were back in the 1940s when the state pension age for men was set at 65. So if we want the same standard of public services, don’t we have to work longer?

Sure, in theory. But as a 23-year-old, I can’t help but feel jaded by the news of the rapidly accelerated rise, the latest nail in the coffin that is the general economic malaise which has descended upon my generation.

What age will we be, I wonder, when the class of 2020 are finally allowed to leave the rat race? Perhaps by then they’ll have done away with retirement altogether, and resorted to cryo-freezing and unfreezing our decrepit bodies to keep us all as perpetual economic agents in service to the state.

Millennials and Gen Z are the most educated generations yet, but they are living through what the TUC has called “the longest and harshest pay squeeze in modern history”. To put that into context, in 1989, half of 25 to 34-yearolds owned their own home. Today, the figure is 28 per cent. Not that renting is working well either — last year I had to move back in with my parents because I couldn’t afford my rent.

It’s hard to communicate to older generations just how difficult is it to feel motivated when, save for the very wealthiest, your future looks bleak. We can’t forget, either, that nearly 10 million working-age Brits don’t have jobs. Some of these are students, but it’s little wonder people appear to feel less motivated to work when the rewards for doing so seem worse than ever.

So no, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to feel a bit miffed about all of this. And to my comrades across the Channel: santé, I’ll be raising an £8 pint to you this weekend.