Breaking the NHS picket line

[helpidkwhattodopls]

I work in the NHS, non-clinical. Obviously there are junior doctor strikes coming up and I’m fully in support of them, but I have no choice but to go to work during the strikes. I can’t afford to take time off.

Our manager has given us a warning and said that we shouldn’t be taking the main route into the hospital during the strikes as apparently the striking staff can be very angry at you for breaking the picket. But I have no choice, I don’t drive into work so I have to go this way.

AIBU to ask what the hell I should do?????

The picket line with consist of about 10 middle class late 20 year olds, looking rather awkward.
If it’s get too cold or wet they will likely go home. There may be some light chanting or a few placards.

There is absolutely no animosity towards staff going to work or patients. I remember from the last one, they were quite useful in giving patients directions.

I can only assume your manager is an idiot, or this is a bizarre post designed to reduce support for the strikes.

It takes an hour to walk from one entrance to a hospital to another entrance? how big is this hospital?

It sounds like bollocks to me.

I visited a friend in hospital during one of the strikes, and the pickets didn't say a word as people crossed the picket line.

Bigger than my town of 20k plus people, by the sound of it.

I think average walking speed is approx 3mph. I live right one on side and before I was old and decrepit I could walk the 2.2 miles to the far side of town in 40 minutes.

If it takes an hour, I'd say that the hospital site must be at least 3-3.5 miles across the shortest distance between two entrances.

There was a minority group of junior doctors at our local hospital that were quite aggressive & confrontational towards staff & patients.

The trust did challenge the behaviour as intimidating the public is not tolerated.

Continue to use the main entrance & if they do cause a nuisance then report to the trust & if you are a patient & feel harassed then report to police.

The majority want a peaceful protest & don't support the tiny minority who are behaving badly

I'm going to have a guess that your manager is a bit anti-doctor and is just trying to make them out to be bullies as they are talking inflammatory nonsense. If you're not a resident doctor then you are not striking and going to work as planned is completely normal. Resident doctors have for the most part actually been grateful for the work of other staff in ensuring that safe care has continued during strikes. If you really don't want to use the front door then just pick one of the others.

It’s not the entrances but where the bus drops you.

Nonsense.

But when you get off the bus why can’t you walk round to one of the other entrances? Why will that take hours? That’s what doesn’t make sense?

Just seems like your 'manager' is anti-strike and trying to stir up anger against those striking...

This is pure rubbish and your manager wants reporting for these comments!

Im a nurse. I didn’t strike because I felt (personally) it was morally wrong as I work in a specialist area, second time I couldn’t afford it.

Not once was there bad feeling. Never ever would the staff be disrespectful to the patients over it.

Do not give this another thought.

That's funny, i thought pro-strike and trying to strong arm others into joining.

This! Your hospital doesn't sound like any one I've ever been to if you can't walk through one department to get to another and there's only one entrance/exit to the entire building!

Say the doctors are striking outside the main entrance by A&E which is where the bus drops you off and where you would usually enter and then walk along a few corridors to get to paediatrics in a different wing/building, instead just walk alongside the outside of the building/through the car park or wherever and enter by a different door.

Also doctors absolutely won't (or shouldn't be!) shouting at patients!

How big is this hospital that it would take an hour to reach another entrance?

Exactly. We regularly attend one of the UK’s biggest hospitals. You could walk round the entire site in half an hour.

Um. Sounds like you don't want to go to work!! As others - I have been a junior and a consultant and have both been on strike and crossed picket lines. In actual fact we have checked who is striking when to plan for cover. (Whole other story here of them saving on wages and yet little impact on care. oh yes, staff goodwill, what keeps it going).
You are being precious. No one is going to get angry or violent.

Walking for an hour you could easily cover 3 miles….must be a VERY big hospital site!

This sounds like a pile of bollocks from your manager.

I don't see how anyone can work in the NHS if they can't cope with the possibility that someone might get angry.

I know I am massively missing the point but how can the other entrances to the same hospital be an hours walk away?

I worked as a nurse for the NHS for over 40 years and I have never seen unpleasant behaviour towards staff or public on any picket line.

Iv always gone into work as iv not been a profeasion that strikes. Tbh they have never blocked the entrance. They are off to one side. Never rude and never nasty to anyone

I usually go over and give them a packet of biscuits on the way in

It's a load of bollocks.

You're in a different union (hopefully you're in a union) and it's illegal to take secondary action in any case.

The striking staff know that, their union rep knows that, anybody with half an ounce of knowledge of trade union law knows that. You can walk straight through the middle of them if you so wish (or need to), say hello, take exactly the same route into work and across the largest hospital complex on the planet going by the time you reckon it takes to get across it as you normally would and nobody will notice or give a monkey's that you're doing it because you aren't crossing a picket line or breaking a strike in the slightest. Because it's not your union, it's not your grievance, it's not your perfectly legal industrial action, it's theirs.

So either your manager is talking utter shite to create a feeling of hostility towards the resident doctors - or you are.

None of this makes sense - 'breaking the picket' really isn't a thing with NHS staff. As a non clinical member of staff you literally legally cannot be on strike with the doctors as it is only doctors/BMA members striking. All other staff members are fully expected (including by the BMA) to go to work as normal. Nothing to do with whether or not you can afford a day off.

And then are very strict rules about picketing which are enforced by the BMA themselves as well as by employers. They limit the numbers of people allowed on the picket at any one time and picketers are absolutely not allowed to hassle or block or intimidate people walking into the building, not even other doctors who theoretically are 'strike breaking' never mind other staff members or patients just going about their business.

But even assuming you don't want to walk past the picket, the thing about the bus makes no sense - just get off the bus at the normal stop and then walk through the car park or around the hospital building to the back/side entrance? Unless there are accessibility issues stopping you doing that? Even if your manager is right about the intimidating picket by the main entrance they aren't going to monitor who is getting off the bus or chase people around the car park trying to stop anyone getting into th building

This isn't right, you aren't on strike so it's not your picket line!

Noone cares. I've been on strike earlier in training but now as st7 with a few months left of training I need my clinical days to get signed off so have worked, I'm not sacrificing 16yrs of work/my career for the pickets, quite a few were working and felt similar. Most hospitals don't even have pickets as they're often centralised now