PDA National Officer, Paul Flynn, reports from the STUC march.
On the 8 September 2022 PDA members joined with workers from other public sector workplaces to demand that the Scottish government takes all available action to mitigate the biggest reduction in living standards workers will have experienced for generations.
Pharmacists will be unwelcomely familiar with diminished purchasing power and a squeeze on household budgets for patients, colleagues and pharmacists but what we will see this year and into 2023 will make previous experience pale by comparison.
The STUC organised march saw thousands of workers, activists and concerned individuals march through the centre of Edinburgh’s Historic Old Town in good spirits while bearing flags and banners, chanting, singing, and calling for change in Scotland.
The torrential rain did not dampen the spirits of those attending however and nor did it dampen the ardour and strident calls from the speakers addressing the crowds outside Holyrood from the deck of a heavily modified Fire Brigades Union appliance. There were calls to action, rousing speeches encouraging the workers to fight for social justice, pledges of solidarity with striking workers in rail, communications, and public services. The assembled workers punctuated these requests with boisterous and unwavering support.
Most important of all were the calls to ensure that all workers support each other and don’t allow themselves to fall victim to ploys of othering and pitting one group of workers against another. The economic struggles faced in the coming months and years are not unique to any one group and all must stand together and demand they are heeded. The PDA believe pharmacists are ready to act and to support our fellow workers in their struggle.
If you wish to know more or want to be kept up to date with future opportunities to attend rallies and marches in Scotland with the PDA, please contact paul.flynn@pda-union.org
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