Union says staff at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust will take strike action in a row over pay
Healthcare support workers are due to start the industrial action next week
Hundreds of healthcare support workers at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust will take strike action from next week in a row over pay, says UNISON.
Staff at Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital are set to walk out on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 April, with further strikes planned for 17, 22 and 28 April*. In a recent ballot, 94% of those who voted backed strike action.
According to NHS guidance, healthcare support workers on salary band 2 of the Agenda for Change pay scale should only be providing personal care, such as bathing and feeding patients. However, most of the healthcare assistants have routinely undertaken clinical tasks, such as taking blood, performing electrocardiogram tests and inserting cannulas, says UNISON.
The trust has agreed to regrade some staff but refuses to provide back pay for the extra responsibilities workers have been given. These date back as far as 2018 in some cases.
UNISON East Midlands head of health Gareth Eales said: “Healthcare support staff want to continue providing exceptional care to people across Nottingham. They’ve been working well above their grade for years. It’s time the Trust did the right thing and paid them properly for their work.”
Helen, a healthcare assistant in Nottingham said: “All we’re asking for is to be fairly paid for the work we’ve done. No one wants to strike, but staff are determined to get what they deserve.”
In a statement from the Hospital Trust - Danielle Petch, Chief People Officer of Nottingham University Hospitals said:
“Health Care Support Worker colleagues at NUH have already been re-banded with associated increased pay to better reflect the important clinical activities that this group of staff carry out. This follows an extensive review to look at the work undertaken by our Health Care Support Workers over a number of years, and whether their banding is correct for the duties they undertake.
“The re-banding follows a robust process with the five unions who represent this workforce, resulting in support from four of the five. It is disappointing that agreement could not be reached with UNISON.
“For those colleagues this affects we have agreed that they will receive back pay to August 2021, which is in line with a national update on job profiles for Health Care Support Workers. We are making the payments from April onwards and when all back pay has been paid, this is expected to total over £10m.
“Our hospitals could not run without the skill and dedication of our Health Care Support Workers, they have been and remain a hugely valued group of colleagues.”