Healthcare assistants at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust will protest outside their employer’s board meeting to demand compensation for carrying out tasks above their pay grade, says UNISON today (Wednesday).
The staff, who work in the theatre and maternity departments of the trust, are employed on band 2 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale but have been carrying out clinical responsibilities that should have been paid at the higher band 3 for several years, says the union.
UNISON is campaigning nationally for all band 2 staff with increased responsibilities to be paid at the correct rate for the work they do. The union’s Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign also calls for workers to be compensated for band 3 work already carried out.
However, the trust has failed to make an offer of back pay for band 2 staff working in the maternity and theatre departments.
Healthcare assistants will stage a protest when the trust’s board of directors meets tomorrow (8 May) to demonstrate their strength of feeling, and to demand an acceptable offer.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Gary Cleaver said: “These healthcare assistants are being instructed to carry out clinical work without being paid properly for it.
“NHS workers on band 2 earn just a penny above the minimum wage. It’s high time the trust showed staff the respect they deserve by making an acceptable back pay offer to compensate them for the work they’ve already done.
“Staff are prepared to do whatever it takes to get what they deserve.
“Trust managers should take heed of the strength of feeling and put forward an acceptable offer.”
Louise, a band 2 maternity support worker, said: “Maternity support workers play a key role so people have a successful pregnancy, we all perform clinical duties and we deserve recognition for our dedication to the role.
“My colleagues and I feel so frustrated and disappointed that we are not being recognised and valued the same as our colleagues in the trust.”
Notes to editors:
– Staff will be meeting at the car park behind Acre Mills on Acre St in Huddersfield (HD3 3EN) at 8.30am tomorrow (8 May) to march on the trust’s board meeting, which is due to be held in Acre Mills.
– Band 2 duties are considered to be ’personal care’, and include tasks such as feeding, bathing and helping patients use the toilet. Band 3 tasks are classed as ’patient observations and clinical care’. These include monitoring heart rates and blood pressure, taking blood samples, wound observation and urine analysis.
– Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has two main hospitals – Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary – as well as community sites and health centres.
