Manchester

Karen Reissmann sacked - and cuts still loom

If your hospital trust is £3 million in the red while you have £160 million sitting in the bank, what do you do? Sack the union rep, provoke a strike and the most widespread solidarity protests Manchester has seen in years.

On 5 December there were protests against Karen Reissmann's sacking at every hospital in Manchester and across the public sector. Socialist Party members helped mobilise workers at the Blood Service, Manchester town hall and Salford council. Protests were organised at Royal Bolton Hospital, in Stockport, Trafford, Prestwich, Rochdale, Wakefield and further afield.

Two hundred 'Silent Nightingales' rallied in Manchester where a striker told the socialist: "It's quite heartening to see people out across the country, seeing all these messages of support it really buoys us up. For the trust bosses this is a wake-up call, but... more important are the people who are the movers and shakers behind the scenes [councillors and MPs - HC]. Now it's up to the people we elect.

"As well as workers or service users we're also tax-payers. We are the electorate and shouldn't have to be here in the rain protesting, we should be back at work. This has been going on for too long and it's just not good enough."

Karen Reissmann's sacking was confirmed on 10 December. Legal action will take months.

Meanwhile workers need to plan for further industrial action against management attacks and the planned £3 million-worth of cuts to services.

New Labour wants to privatise the NHS. Left candidates including Socialist Party members are looking to stand against trust board councillors in May's local elections.

Unison members need to consider how they can challenge the likes of council spokesperson Curley, health secretary Johnson and mental health minister Lewis in 2008 and the year after.

See www.socialistparty.org.uk for more on the dispute and the next steps.