Chris Moore, Gloucestershire Socialist Party
After more than 200 days of continuous strike action, these heroic NHS strikers simply want fair pay for their skilled work.
Management has refused to properly evaluate their jobs and has distorted the portrayal of events during this strike.
On the picket line, Kelly said: “It’s disgraceful, some staff have worked here for 20 years and look at how we’ve been treated.” Another picket said: “We’re fighting for our jobs. We either stand and fight and get the wages we can live on and the recognition of the skills needed for our job, or we’ll be off.”
They are a small but vital part of the NHS workforce; many other NHS trusts are watching carefully the outcome of this dispute.
Phlebotomists take and handle blood samples from patients that need specialist care. They are on Band 2 pay at just £12.36 an hour, just 15p above the minimum wage. According to NHS rules, staff with the phlebotomists’ knowledge and training should be paid at Band 3.
The workers approached the trust management in November 2024 to demand a review of their job evaluation. A review was promised but never happened so, since mid-March, there have been continuous picket lines.
A job review panel was set up, but was closed without warning by the trust senior management when it looked likely it might find in the phlebotomists’ favour. Then for months the trust refused to engage in negotiations. Eventually they were forced to set up another panel but were not transparent about its findings. Another panel had to sit again in October, and ACAS are also involved in negotiations.
Rewriting rules
Now bosses are trying to change the job description! One picket commented: “They’re not following rules, they’re rewriting them.” As staff rep Caroline said: “This dispute is about correctly evaluating the skills of our dedicated and hard-working staff to the correct pay band and paying us what they owe us.” Staff rep Dawny added: “It’s abhorrent how the Trust have been able to drag out this process.”
Strikers have told us that the trust CEO Kevin McNamara receives a salary of £300,000, his background is marketing not medical. According to the BBC, he had his £100,000 legal fees paid by the NHS for a tribunal and two failed appeals after a tribunal found him responsible for bullying in a previous NHS role.
As many strikers commented, instead of business managers, “we should have a say in how things are run.”
