{"id":18847,"date":"2019-09-10T17:32:36","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T16:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18847"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:55:34","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:55:34","slug":"unite-ags-gail-cartmail-speaks-out-for-striking-health-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18847","title":{"rendered":"‘Action not words’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail supported a motion on local government stating the need to support people from the cradle to the grave \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by highlighting the plight of the Unite Lincolnshire health visitors in particular \u00e2\u20ac\u201c on strike for the first time ever.<\/p>\n

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She explained the background of health visitors. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn 1896 the Women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sanitary Inspectors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Association was founded. It was renamed the Women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sanitary Inspectors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and Health Visitors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Association in 1915.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moreover it was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe first health union to affiliate to the TUC in 1924.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese pioneering women supported women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suffrage working in slums shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Sylvia Pankhurst \u00e2\u20ac\u201c fighting appalling deprivation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the hallmark of capitalist greed and exploitation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail continued, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bToday in Unite, health visitors have held on to their emblematic colours of green, white and violet \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and slogan of \u00e2\u20ac\u0098give women the vote\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey have a proud history of independent advocacy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c now as many have been transferred to local authorities, they are at the sharp end of cuts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThose that remain struggle with dangerously high caseloads. In Lincolnshire, Unite health visitors have been at the receiving end of a three year pay freeze. These 58 health visitors have, since they were transferred from the NHS, been robbed of more than \u00c2\u01412,000.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She explained that, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bApart from this accumulative pay cut they are seriously concerned about the downgrading of the health visitors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 professional status \u00e2\u20ac\u201c resulting in fewer staff doing the specialist health visitor role.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAlarmingly they have been told health visiting is not a \u00e2\u20ac\u015blife and death service\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c tell that to a health visitor who has the harrowing duty of giving evidence to a child death inquiry. And Congress they have said enough is enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir strike is unprecedented in the health visiting profession,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail introduced the three visiting strikers to the conference, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bClaire Bradford, Hayley Carter, Nicola Stimson. Congress this motion calls on all of us to support a high profile campaign to reverse the cuts.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthat we salute the Lincolnshire Health Visitors and their campaign to achieve just that. As the women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suffrage movement demanded, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098action not words.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The motion was carried.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail supported a motion on local government stating the need to support people from the cradle to the grave \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by highlighting the plight of the Unite Lincolnshire health visitors in particular \u00e2\u20ac\u201c on strike for the first time ever.   She explained the background of health visitors. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn 1896 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[77,999,88,1224],"wps_subtitle":"Unite AGS Gail Cartmail speaks out for striking health visitors ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18847"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25023,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847\/revisions\/25023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}