"How much is your safety worth?"

Sunday 22 September 2019

The streets of St Peter Port were alive with whistles, horns and shouts of protest on Saturday lunchtime as lots of local nurses and supporters joined together to demand equal pay.

Protesters gathered at Salerie Corner and made their way along the front and through the High Street, finishing up in Market Square.

"It's all about equal pay," said Guernsey nurse Tammy Bourgaize. "There's people payed by the same employer on much higher pay scales for jobs that aren't degree-trained.

Pictured: Marchers carried placards along the roads.

"People come into nursing because it is a vocation. People do care and that's why they want to do it, but gone are the times when you were just bed bathing and stuff like that. We're there the 23-and-a-half hours a day the doctors aren't and we deserve rewarding for that."

Hundreds of young children and even pets got involved too, with lots of Town shoppers and workers heading outside to watch the protest pass by.

Lots of marchers carried placards with messages like; 'It's your health. Act now!', 'Be fair to those that care', 'P&R walk a shift in our shoes' and 'What if I can't afford to care?'.

Pictured: Lots of people turned out in the sunshine to show their support.

"The turnout has been amazing and it has been a very festive, joyous occasion with a very serious message," said RCN Guernsey Convenor, Kenny Lloyd. "I hope that it is going to be picked up by Policy & Resources and the rest of the politicians in Guernsey."

So far, despite numerous negotiations, P&R has failed to come to a satisfactory agreement with the nurses' representatives. With the committee having missed multiple deadlines, it is feared strike action may be taken by local healthcare staff if a decision is not made soon.

Pictured: Nurses were asking for 'No more potato peel pay'.

"I just hope this message can get us back in the table and get some meaningful discussions, because the alternative t this is not what anybody wants," added Mr Lloyd. "It would be a sad, sad day if we had to vote on industrial action. We don't want to do that - we've been saying that all along - so let's just hope this message gets out to them."

Nurses in the island have been protesting for change for quite some time now, and have recently taken to standing along the Town seafront at rush hour encouraging passing drivers to honk their horns in support.

Pictured: Guernsey Police stopped traffic while protesters made their way along the Town seafront.

Their efforts have been supported by the President of Health and Social Care, Deputy Heidi Soulsby, who recently wrote an open letter to P&R asking that "tangible action" be taken as soon as possible.

"I think it's such a shame that it's coming to this," said local nurse Holly Le Pelley, "for our employer to not be engaging with us!"