Niamh Cassidy
When phlebotomists rallied in Gloucester on 17 November it was their 236th day on strike – the longest in NHS history. The Unison members have been taking strike action since 27 March, due to a pay banding dispute.
The team of 37 (specialist healthcare workers who draw blood) are currently on Band 2 pay, the lowest band in the NHS (£12.36 per hour), and are asking to be uprated to Band 3 to better reflect their skills, for an additional £1.09 per hour.
The latest offer from the trust was to replace their phlebotomist title with a new Band 3 Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) role. According to the trust, this would involve 50% other duties.
In her speech, Dawny Elliott said: “The trust’s idea of a resolution is to change our roles to healthcare support workers, which would dilute our skills and remove the specialist nature of our work. It’s clear this is being driven by money, not patient care.
“What happens here will set a precedent for phlebotomists across the country for every hospital and future generations. It sends a message that expertise and dedication are disposable.
“If management think they can scare us, they’ve clearly forgotten who the real vampires are… The real vampires and bloodsuckers are in boardrooms, draining the NHS dry, while we fight to keep it alive.”
Striking phlebotomist Caroline Hayhurst said: “It’s been tough. None of us knew for one minute that this was going to last over eight months, but we’re still here. It’s become not just about our pay; it’s about fair play. It’s about holding the trust accountable.”
Striker Jayana Mistry emphasised: “It’s not easy to stand here. We really want to go back to work, and we really want to do our job, because we love our job. We are standing strong, striking strong, and we will win.”
The rally was supported by Socialist Party members, trade unionists and the public. Tam McFarlen, National Officer for the Fire Brigades Union, gave a personal insight. “When your blood pressure drops, and when your skin becomes hypersensitised to pain, the one group of people you want to see walking into that room are phlebotomists… They’re worth every single penny they’re asking.
“We’ve got a superpower in our movement, and it’s called solidarity,” he concluded.
Throughout the industrial action, CEO Kevin McNamara has shown a lack of presence or willingness to negotiate, until very recently. Caroline said: “At no point did he make any effort to come and visit our department, discuss with us what we wanted, how we felt. Not once.”
He told the BBC that “this is taxpayers’ money.” Yet it has been disclosed that over £100,000 of taxpayers’ money was used in legal fees to twice appeal against an industrial tribunal finding that he had bullied a member of staff!
According to Unison, correcting all the phlebotomists’ wages would amount to just a quarter of McNamara’s salary.
