TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK speaks to the Morning Star’s Berny Torre about the increasing frustration the trade union movement feels at a government that promised change, but has been too slow to bring it about

MANY staff employed in the health and social care sector are plugging funding gaps from their own pockets.
Of course, this problem is not restricted to the NHS, it has been happening across public services for some time. Teachers, for example, will have recently been on their annual shopping trips to equip their classrooms for the new school year, purchasing such essentials as books, stationery and other vital learning resources.
This has almost become an accepted normality for the teaching profession. It should not be.

With 121,000 vacancies and 44.8% of staff feeling unwell from work stress, the NHS 10-year plan will not succeed unless the government takes immediate action to retain existing staff, writes ANNETTE MANSELL-GREEN


