Striking Gloucestershire NHS staff call on hospital boss to end dispute, says UNISON

Specialist healthcare workers at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals are to begin a second round of strike action after trust managers failed to resolve a year-long pay dispute, says UNISON today (Monday).

The 37 phlebotomists, who take vital patient blood samples, will walk out for four days this week, and five next week, over the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s failure to pay the correct wages for the work they do, the union says.

The NHS staff raised concerns about their pay last March and submitted a formal complaint directly to trust chief executive Kevin McNamara in September. Despite this, the trust has yet to convene a formal meeting to review the phlebotomists’ pay, says UNISON.

UNISON says the trust has incorrectly calculated the health workers’ pay, leaving them on the lowest salary band of the NHS, despite their skills, knowledge and daily tasks warranting the next band up. The error means the phlebotomists are losing out on around £1 per hour, says the union.

As a result, the NHS workers are going back on strike from today (Monday) to Thursday (27 March), and then again from Monday 31 March to Friday 4 April. This follows three days of industrial action last week.

UNISON south west regional organiser Christopher Roche said: “The least NHS staff deserve is to be paid for the work they do, and the least patients should expect is to have properly staffed hospitals. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is failing on both fronts.

“The buck stops with the chief executive, Kevin McNamara. If there had been a problem with his wages, there’s no doubt the issue would have been resolved speedily. Frontline NHS staff deserve no less.

“Phlebotomists are vital to the smooth operation of these hospitals. But their employer is treating them with contempt. NHS staff and patients deserve better. It’s time for Mr McNamara to finally take responsibility and settle this dispute.”

Phlebotomist Dagmara Jaworek said: “Kevin McNamara says he recognises and appreciates our valuable contribution, but that’s clearly not true. We have been underpaid for years and now the man responsible is nowhere to be seen. That’s not what recognition or appreciation looks like.”

Phlebotomist Dawnie Elliott said: “Broken promises don’t pay the bills. Kevin McNamara and the hospital’s other senior executives are unlikely to have any idea what it’s like to earn just a few pennies an hour above the minimum wage. It’s not easy. We’re skilled NHS staff, committed to our patients, and all we’re asking for is to be paid properly.”

Phlebotomist Caroline Hayhurst said: “It feels like the trust has gotten away with exploiting us for years just because we love the job we do and the patients we treat. Goodwill has run out and many colleagues are on the brink of leaving the NHS for pay they can afford to live on.

“Trust managers are not working in partnership with us at all. After all these months, they still won’t hold a meeting to resolve the dispute. We’ve got missing pay and now a missing chief executive. We want to get back to our jobs. Kevin McNamara needs to do his.”