This is a short article published in Vital Signs Magazine no.3 that we distributed amongst our fellow workers at Southmead hospital and the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
In this series we want to look at how our working conditions, like wages and long working hours, affect our lives beyond work and how our situation ‘at home’, such as shared housing or high rent, impacts on our working lives. The hamster wheel of work and worries often leaves little time for friendships and joy.
But this is not supposed to be a sob story. We are looking for ways that we can take back time for ourselves and our relationships: from shared childcare arrangements to renters’ unions which struggle for better housing conditions. They used to provide cheaper housing for NHS workers! It would make so much sense if there was a big nursery at Southmead or the BRI – perhaps a goal for the future!
Send us your story!
Band 3 health care assistant
I have a one and a four year old child. My partner and I live in a two bedroom flat. We pay £1,200 rent, plus nearly £400 for bills – the council tax has gone up. My partner works in care, she mainly works night-shifts and I do 12-hour day-shifts. In the morning I get the two kids ready and bring them with me to the hospital. My partner then comes from night-shift, picks them up and drops the four year old to school. When the buses don’t run on time we are in trouble. My partner then has to try and sleep when the little one has a nap, which is difficult. At 3pm she has to go and get the older one from school. If the wages were higher or the rent lower, we would have less stress and could spend more time with the kids. It’s tiring.
Band 5 nurse
I am a single-mother and I work full-time, 12-hour day-shifts. Because of my visa situation I cannot work part-time. My child is still too young for nursery, so I have to pay for a child-minder. I pay £100 for a 12-hour day. Most nurseries have long waiting lists. And even if your child goes to nursery, it won’t cover the whole 12-hour shift. The state pays only for 15 hours anyway.
Band 3 health care assistant
As a 50-year old I now live in a shared accommodation with a slightly crazy family. My room rent is £600. First I thought it is sad that I still have to flat-share, because sometimes things are awkward. For example when you want to cook at the same time or when your partner is over. Sex is slightly more restrained when your landlady sleeps next door. But then there are good aspects, as well. You help each other out, you share things and I still feel emotionally sensitive enough to become a part of some strangers’ lives.
Band 5 nurse
My wife and I have three small children. She had to go back to work soon after birth, so we work 12-hour shifts on rotating days. The only day we all see each other is on Monday. With the interest rate increase our mortgage is now £1,800.
Workers in Spain show the way?
In October 2024 over 100,000 people demonstrated in Madrid and thousands of other towns against high rents, asking for a general rent reduction by 50%. In many working class areas people form renters unions, similar to ACORN in Bristol. In December 2024 around 900 tenants of a housing block near Bilbao started a rent strike.
What are we going to do?
