Maternity support workers in Grimsby are set to strike for 48 hours next week after talks between UNISON and hospital managers failed to reach agreement, UNISON says today (Friday).
The healthcare assistants at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust were previously on band 2 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, and for several years had been carrying out clinical responsibilities that should have been paid at the higher band 3, says the union.
Although the maternity workers at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital have now been moved up to the higher salary grade, UNISON says they should receive back pay to compensate them for the time they were on the wrong pay band.
A two-day strike, beginning at 7am on Monday (29 July) was announced earlier this month.
Trust managers agreed to meet with UNISON via arbitration service Acas as a result, but the meeting earlier today failed to result in an agreement, and the strike will go ahead as planned.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Ashley Harper said: “UNISON entered these talks feeling optimistic that there would be a breakthrough that would allow the strike to be called off.
“But trust managers failed to bring an acceptable offer to the table, so staff have been left with no other option than to walk out next week as planned.
“Strike action is always a last resort though. Senior managers should sit down with us again as soon as possible with an improved offer to get this dispute sorted.
“Hospital managers knew staff were carrying out jobs above their pay grade. The trust’s got the money to compensate them. It’s not a difficult solution.”
One midwife support worker said: “If the trust had been overpaying its staff, managers would want all the money back.
“The trust was knowingly telling us to carry out duties above our band, but not paying us for it. Hospital bosses need to do the right thing.”
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