Barnsley hospital workers step up campaign for fair pay

A group of rehabilitation support workers based at Kendray Hospital in Barnsley are demanding to be paid properly for the increasingly complex work they do.

The staff, who provide care to patients in the community and are employed by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust, have held a series of protests outside Kendray Hospital, and launched a petition to gain support for their campaign.

The union says the workers are carrying out duties – such as performing observations and clinical care tasks – that should be paid at a higher rate.

Although staff receive back pay for extra work, UNISON says managers should move them up to the proper grade, as they have done with other roles at the hospital.

Since 2021, more than 40,000 healthcare workers in England and Wales have received £162m in back pay and more than £64m in salary increases as part of the union’s Pay Fair for Patient Care campaign.

Over 60 trusts in England and Wales have agreed deals that have seen NHS support staff put on the grade that matches their jobs and awarded compensation for past work. 

UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Charlie Carruth said: “These dedicated frontline workers are barely scraping a living wage.

“They’re skilled professionals carrying out important jobs and the trust’s refusal to pay them properly isn’t on. It also makes no sense as hundreds of other hospital staff have been regraded.

“Nobody wants to take strike action, but hospital managers have to pay all their staff properly.”

Susie Massey, a rehabilitation support worker for over 20 years, said: “Support workers do the job because we care about our patients.

“We go into environments which are often unpredictable on our own to ensure patients get the care and support they need.

“We’re simply asking to be paid properly for the work we do.”

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