After years of feeling unheard, striking mental health staff in Suffolk and Norfolk say they finally feel seen
Members of the union Unison met with MP's in Westminster yesterday
Striking mental health workers from Norfolk and Waveney Mind say they’ve finally had a breakthrough after taking their fight for fair pay to Parliament.
The counsellors, who walked out again on Tuesday (25 June), travelled to London to meet MPs and call for urgent action, after spending more than two years demanding fair treatment from their employer.
Matt South, a counsellor involved in the dispute, told us:
“It’s gone fantastically well. We met Clive Lewis (the Labour MP for Norwich South), and he was very compassionate to our cause… He seemed very passionate about working with us. There’s a plan now between him and the Unison representative to really get this sorted properly.”
Counsellors say they’ve been paid trainee rates, despite being fully qualified. Although some staff have now been moved up to Band 6, many remain stuck on Band 5, despite documents seen by staff suggesting they should be at Band 7, in line with NHS national standards.
Matt said discovering this in black and white was the tipping point:
“As far as we can work out, it literally says that the counsellors should be at Band 7… Our reaction was, ‘If it’s in the contracts, then why aren’t you delivering this?’”
In May, the team staged their first day of strike action. Since then, they’ve launched action short of a strike, refusing to take on any new high-intensity cases.
"The emotional toll has been immense"
“We’ve been feeling absolutely exhausted emotionally and physically,” said Matt. “We’ve had to do the day job alongside this fight, helping people who’ve gone through massive trauma, four or five clients a day. We’re drained.”
UNISON’s Eastern regional organiser Cameron Matthews has backed the workers, saying:
“All staff want is proper recognition and fair pay for the work they do. Senior managers are tying themselves in knots trying to justify undervaluing their therapists.”
A counsellor, who didn’t want to be named, added:
“We’re not asking for a pay rise. We just want to be paid correctly. Mind is refusing to listen, so we’re having to take our case to MPs in the hope they can intervene.”
Despite the pressure, there’s new hope. The counsellors now have the support of UNISON, Clive Lewis MP, and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), who are all backing their case.
“To get to a position where we feel confident now with the support we’ve got… It’s quite a relief,” said Matt. “We’re really optimistic.”