Billy Jones, Gloucestershire Socialist Party
After 84 days of strike action, Gloucestershire phlebotomists – medical professionals who take blood samples – have seen a major breakthrough in their fight for fair pay.
Caroline Hayhurst, elected rep of the phlebotomy team, writes: “As a result of our determination and unity, along with the solidarity and pressure we’ve built up locally, the Trust has been forced to back down and stop blocking the job evaluation panel from reviewing our pay. We’ve stood firm, and they are finally forced to treat us with some respect.”
The phlebotomists’ pay has been unfairly set to Band 2 – just pence above the minimum wage – despite how difficult and dangerous their work is. The small team of mostly women workers, now nicknamed ‘The Magnificent 37’, were not unionised 19 months ago, but pushing back against their conditions has quickly turned them into fighters.
They have consistently stood in solidarity with other struggling workers, including the Birmingham bin workers on strike against their council for fair pay. Recently they rallied alongside the Fire Brigades Union to protest against Gloucestershire County Council changing the shift times of firefighters.
Caroline spoke at the Socialist Party’s South West regional conference in June and received a standing ovation. She will also be speaking at the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) conference on 5 July.
The strike has set fires of motivation for other phlebotomy teams across the region. Phlebotomists in Swindon, suffering on similar wages, have held an indicative ballot for strike action, returning a 100% result in favour.
Dawnie Elliott, another member of the team, sums up the feeling in Gloucestershire: “It’s been a long and often exhausting journey, but this breakthrough shows that our courage, unity, and refusal to back down are starting to make an impact. We know this isn’t the end, but it finally feels like we are being heard.”
