NHS staff working in hospitals across Leeds are set to strike in a dispute over missing wages.
Theatre assistants employed across four hospital sites run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust* have backed the walkouts because they’re unhappy their employer has refused to pay them for work previously carried out when they were on the wrong grade.
The workers perform tasks such as counting swabs, inserting cannulas, collecting samples and ensuring equipment is used in a sterile manner, which the union says should have been paid at a higher rate.
UNISON says staff should be moved to the correct grade, and compensated fairly for the extra duties they’ve carried out already.
The staff have only been offered one year’s back pay, whilst other staff have received compensation back to April 2021. Earlier this year, trust interim chief executive Brendan Brown oversaw a deal at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust that saw staff given five years’ money.
UNISON says the Leeds trust’s refusal to settle up is out of step with what is happening elsewhere in the region and around the country.
Since 2021, over 60 NHS trusts in England and Wales have agreed deals on regrading and back pay for over 40,000 healthcare workers.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside area organiser Imogen Woods said: “The last thing staff want to do is take strike action, especially in the run up to Christmas. But they feel they’ve been left with no other option.
“Staff have been working above their pay grade for years and it’s only right they’re fairly compensated.
“Hospital managers need to recognise the strength of feeling on this issue. Strike action can easily be avoided if they agree to pay them properly for the work they’ve done.”
Notes:
– *Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust runs seven hospitals across five sites: Leeds General Infirmary, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds Children’s Hospital, Leeds Dental Institute, Chapel Allerton Hospital, Seacroft Hospital and Wharfedale Hospital.
– In the strike ballot, 100% of staff backed strike action. The turnout was 75% and it closed on Monday 17 November.
– UNISON has won more than £160m in back pay and over £60m in ongoing salary increases for healthcare assistants and other support workers through its Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign. More information is available here.
