Gary Neville starts campaign to stage nationwide protest against 1% pay increase for nurses

Nurses have been given a pay rise below the rate of inflation

Gary Neville has called upon the British people to stage protests nationwide against the pitiful pay increase the government has given nurses in its 2021 budget. After a year of protecting the nation from a virus that has killed 120,000 people, including 225 NHS workers, the government decided to increase the pay packet of Britain's nurses by just £3.50 a week - one per cent, below the projected rate of inflation for the upcoming year. So that's basically a pay cut, as JOE's Nadine Batchelor-Hunt writes here. Not that it will hurt their polling, but an aggressive backlash followed the news, with former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville among the public figures to voice their objections. In fact, Neville has been so enraged by the policy that he has asked the people of Britain to take to the streets once society re-opens. "1 per cent," he wrote on Twitter. "June 21st we should all protest in our cities against this brutal and disgusting action! RT for yes and let’s get a campaign to change it!" he added. https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1367924222501257216 Within two hours, his tweet had reached 10,000 likes. The rest of the budget was met with a largely warm reception, with minimum wage set to increase in April. Another divisive aspect of the budget was the temporary retention of the £20 increase to universal credit brought in at the start of the pandemic. Those inclined to side with the government will see this as a generous gift to those in need. But many have pointed out that UC is low enough as it is, and this just means that six months down the line they will be cutting benefits.