Maternity support workers in Grimsby are set to strike for two weeks from next Monday (11 November) over their employer’s failure to compensate them fairly for the many years they were paid incorrectly, says UNISON today (Thursday).
The staff at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby were moved up a grade last year in recognition of the extra clinical duties they were carrying out.
The workers say the hospital needs to reward them for their previous underpaid work.
The maternity support staff had previously on band 2 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, and after a successful UNISON campaign were moved up to band 3.
Talks between UNISON and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust had been progressing, but have stalled as the trust’s current proposals could see some staff who’ve been in post for decades receive less back pay than colleagues with a few years’ service. This is as a result of the trust’s failure to fairly reflect previous experience when calculating back pay, adds UNISON.
Frustrated staff say the trust’s refusal to make a fair offer on back pay has left them with no alternative but to take strike action. If agreement cannot be reached, staff will walk out at 7am on Monday for two weeks.
The latest action will be the third time the workers have gone on strike this year, having previously taken part in a two-day strike in July, and a week-long one at the end of August.
According to NHS guidance, healthcare assistants on salary band 2 should only be providing personal care such as bathing and feeding patients.
However, most of the maternity staff have been undertaking clinical tasks, like taking bloods, says UNISON.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Ashley Harper said: “Staff are frustrated at the trust’s refusal to pay them the money they’re owed.
“Maternity support workers are some of the lowest paid staff in the NHS, yet they have long been expected to carry out duties they weren’t being paid properly for.
“Staff simply want to be paid fairly for their work. That’s not much to ask.
“I’m appealing directly to the trust’s chief executive to do the right thing and compensate its staff, rather than spending money covering the strike.”
