Friday 20 September 2024
For immediate release
Hundreds of healthcare support staff at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Foundation Trust are to escalate their strike action next week in an ongoing pay dispute, UNISON announced today (Friday).
They will be walking out over the trust’s failure to put staff on the NHS salary scale that best matches the skilled work they do and agree compensation for time they’ve been paid the wrong rate.
For years, the healthcare support workers have been on band 2 rate of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, which typically covers personal care tasks such as feeding and bathing patients.
However, the staff have been regularly doing more complex duties like taking blood, performing electrocardiograms, and inserting cannulas – tasks that, according to NHS guidance, should be compensated at the higher band 3
The trust has made an offer regarding compensation, but only to some workers, says the union. After a consultation with staff, the proposal was rejected.
So now staff from University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Greenwich are to stage a 72-hour walkout, beginning at 7am on Tuesday. This follows a 48-hour strike earlier this month.
The key issue remains the trust’s refusal to move all eligible staff to the appropriate point on the band 3 pay spine, and recognise their time already spent performing these roles, says UNISON.
UNISON London regional secretary Jo Galloway said: “The trust’s offer to some staff is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. It doesn’t cover all staff affected, nor does it reflect the length of time many have spent working above their pay grade.
“It’s deeply disappointing that trust managers are continuing to drag their feet instead of trying to resolve this dispute properly.
“These healthcare employees are at the heart of patient care. The trust shouldn’t be asking staff to perform skilled clinical duties without proper recognition or compensation for the work they do. The workers say they won’t end the strike until all their colleagues get the pay and recognition they deserve.”
Notes to editors:
– The staff will strike for 72 hours from 7am on Tuesday 24 September until 7am on Friday 27 September.
– Picket lines will be set up at University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Greenwich, from 7am to 5pm daily during the strike action.
– UNISON has secured more than £70m in pay settlements for healthcare support staff through its Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services across education, local government, the NHS, police, and energy sectors. They are employed in the public, voluntary, and private sectors.
Media contact: Rosie Sammut M: 07958 063188 E: r.sammut@unison.co.uk
