Unison rep
I have been an employee of the NHS for 34 years and am also active in the trade union Unison. In that time, I have observed considerable development across all clinical roles, not least that of the Health Care Assistant (HCA).
Once, HCAs were known as ‘bath nurses’, assisting patients in maintaining their personal hygiene and toileting. Over time, HCAs have taken on more advanced duties which were previously undertaken by registered nurses. This extended role can include cannulisation, phlebotomy, ECGs and clinical observations etc. For this vital job they are paid £11.45 an hour, just 1p more than the current national minimum wage!
A national campaign for a higher pay band has been ongoing for the past couple of years, with many trusts conceding the value of this staff group, paying the higher ‘Band 3’ salary and backdating pay by five years. Not so the combined health trusts of North and South Tees, which covers Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Hambleton and Richmondshire.
The employers initially suffered a bad case of amnesia, claiming not to have known they were employing and training HCAs in this extended role! While agreeing to upgrade some, but not all, HCA roles, the employers would not consent to more than two years’ back pay, despite almost 50 other trusts paying five years.
Since March this year, HCAs have conducted a campaign of strikes, walking out for 336 hours in total. Picket lines have been very well attended, with a positive and determined attitude to see the dispute through to a win.
On 17 June the employers finally restarted negotiations, and on 21 June a deal was struck for the full back pay of five years!
This success has ignited the touchpaper of dissatisfaction amongst other NHS staff locally, including phlebotomists and call-handing staff. I have no doubt that disputes will escalate given the new militancy I am witnessing. The message here is clear and simple: we know our worth and we are coming to claim it!
