Northumbria healthcare staff back strike action in pay row, says UNISON
Hundreds of healthcare assistants employed by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay, says UNISON today (Wednesday).
Staff will walk out in the coming weeks unless there’s an improvement in the amount of back pay the trust is prepared to give them, says the union.
The NHS workers have been campaigning since 2023 to be regraded to the next band of the NHS Agenda for Change salary scale.
This is because the jobs done by these support staff have become increasingly complex over the years, says UNISON.
In 2024, the trust moved the workers up a band. But agreement couldn’t be reached over how much compensation each affected employee should receive for the many years they were effectively underpaid.
At the same time, managers decided two years’ back pay would be sufficient, an amount the healthcare assistants and UNISON said wouldn’t be enough to end the dispute.
In a consultation, the workers rejected the two-year offer but the trust went ahead and paid it anyway.
UNISON says the trust is now refusing to meet its demands for a fairer compensation package for all the years staff worked above their grade.
Across the trust, 96% of staff said they’d be prepared to walk out in the vote that closed on Monday.
UNISON Northern regional secretary Clare Williams said: “Healthcare assistants across Northumbria want to provide exceptional care to patients. But they feel undervalued and let down by the trust.
”The trust has had countless opportunities to improve the amount of compensation but has refused.
“Most healthcare assistants have worked well above their hourly rate for a considerable time.
“These health staff say the imposed amount is not a good reflection of all the extra work they’ve done. They’ve been carrying complicated tasks, yet being paid the lowest hourly rate in the NHS.”
This is the fourth trust in the north east to be in dispute with staff over wage banding. The other successful campaigns have been at Teesside, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
Notes to editors:
– The strike dates are yet to be finalised, but will be announced soon.
– Healthcare assistants employed by the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust won a substantial pay rise in July 2023 and a better back pay deal to that received in Northumbria. This followed 14 days of strike action. Healthcare assistants employed by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust won their campaign in October 2024.
– Band 2 clinical support workers should only undertake personal care duties, according to NHS guidance.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
