NHS worker
Unison members in the critical care unit at Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) covering Greater Manchester took their second day of strike action on 6 April. This involved both the day and night shifts, following initial action by the day shift at the start of March.
The dispute is about access to true overtime. Under existing terms and conditions, called Agenda for Change, overtime pay rates are achieved through collective bargaining. The employer is seeking to reduce their rate, which means an overtime pay cut of up to £10 an hour for some workers. It also forces them to a secondary employer because the bosses are putting overtime out to agencies.
A striking worker said management is “not meeting our standard terms and conditions, not taking into account the skills we have. Staff are struggling to pay bills and feed their families.”
This attack is yet another example of employers attempting to slash workers’ pay and ignoring agreed levels, aiming to meet the cuts demanded by Integrated Care Boards and central government rather than pushing back to demand the funding required to deliver services and meet existing contractual terms.
The strike remains strong. Another worker made an appeal: “Others can help, sign our petition, don’t be afraid to stand up yourselves. We can all do this”. Unison reps told Socialist Party members: “Our members are not only standing up for themselves and their families, they are standing up for the future NHS workforce”.
The workers at NCA will not be the only NHS workers affected by this. There should be a national campaign by Unison and all the health unions to demand restoration and maintenance of pay and conditions for all NHS workers. Leaving the campaign to be achieved branch by branch could lengthen the dispute and leave some branches and members exposed.
- Messages of solidarity to unisonnca@nca.nhs.uk
