Hospital healthcare staff vote for strike action

NHS healthcare staff at Warrington and Halton hospitals have overwhelmingly voted to strike after years of being underpaid says UNISON.

Despite ongoing pay talks, over 300 staff at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHH) this week voted for strike action over pay.
An overwhelming majority (98%) of Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) voted to strike in a recent UNISON ballot. Industrial action is now imminent unless the trust makes an improved offer to staff, says the union.

HCAs deliver essential care alongside nursing staff on the wards. They’re employed across the trusts’ two sites at Warrington Hospital and Halton Hospital.
UNISON says these employees should be paid up to £2,000 more a year because they are performing duties and tasks well above their pay grade.
The NHS says that HCAs on a low pay band like those at WHH should only be undertaking personal care – duties such as supporting patients with going to the toilet, bathing, and feeding.  
But a survey by the union has found that most HCAs working at the band 2 pay scale are routinely undertaking clinical tasks including taking and monitoring blood, electrocardiogram (ECG) tests, and inserting cannulas.
UNISON says that according to NHS job role profiles, all these duties should be paid according to at least a band 3 salary, which is nearly £2,000 a year more.
A total of seven health trusts across the North West have moved many low-paid HCA staff onto the higher rate, and paid the affected staff backpay to April 2018. This is in response to campaigns by UNISON.

Last week, UNISON announced that East Cheshire NHS Trust have also offered to match these agreements.
However, WHH has refused to draw up a similar agreement, despite a collective grievance signed by over 300 staff.
As it stands, UNISON says that WHH trust have made no offer of backpay for the years that HCAs have already worked above their pay band.
This ballot result follows strike action last week over the same issue in the Wirral. Clinical Support Workers* at Wirral University Hospitals Trust took 48-hour strike action from Thursday 31 August to Saturday 2 September. The Wirral strikers will strike again next week for 72 hours, from Monday 11 September to Thursday 14.
A petition signed by more than 1,000 people in support of the workers addressed to trust chief executive Simon Constable, has received more than 1000 signatures.
Angela Blundell, UNISON North West regional organiser, said: “Warrington & Halton Hospitals NHS Trust depends on the goodwill of HCAs to keep the hospitals functioning, delivering exceptional care to the people of Warrington and Halton.
“The trust is currently proposing that some Band 2 staff will be re-banded but there is no offer of back-pay to recognise the many years that staff have been undertaking duties above their band.
“Other NHS trusts across the region have paid back-pay to April 2018. Why are HCAs in Warrington and Halton worth any less than HCAs elsewhere?
“It’s time WHH stopped taking these workers for granted. We call on them to do the right thing and to match other trusts’ agreements to avoid strike action.”
Tracey, a Band 2 HCA, said, “In my department, band 2 HCAs are expected to perform duties like venepuncture, ECG testing and urinalysis every day. The hospitals wouldn’t function without us.
“A lot of my colleagues are struggling to make ends meet on the lowest pay band. To find out that we’ve all been working above our band for years and been short-changed by our trust makes us feel sick.
“We’ve spent years making sacrifices for our jobs, in the hospitals and in our private lives. I hope trust management changes its mind and rewards us for the years of work we’ve already put in.”

Commenting in response to the proposed strike action Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospital’s Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive, Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson, said:“Our healthcare support workers are essential and valued members of our team, and we are committed to ensuring they are paid at the right pay band for the work they do.
“In July 2022, we started a project to review these roles. This included a full consultation with the staff members involved as well as input from local trade union representatives. Following this, from October this year around 80% of our healthcare support workers will have their pay uplifted from a band 2 to a band 3. This reflects the different roles required across different parts of the organisation and the individual preferences of our healthcare support workers.
“In May 2023, a separate issue arose around retrospective pay banding for some band 2 staff who felt they were already working at band 3 level. We have set up a working group to explore this issue in the detail it deserves. The group includes healthcare support workers and local trade union representatives and is aiming to establish a fair way to resolve this complex issue as quickly as possible.
“Unfortunately, despite our commitment to resolving this matter in partnership with trade unions, regional UNISON colleagues have decided to pursue strike action. Whilst this is regrettable, we will continue to work in partnership to find a resolution for our healthcare support workers. We will also be taking all appropriate actions to minimise any potential impact on our services during any period strike action is taken.
“We remain determined to do the right thing by our staff and will continue with our efforts to resolve the issue.”