Dave Reid, Socialist Party Wales secretary
Cwm Taf Morgannwg health visitors have gone past the 120th day of strike action in their fight for pay justice. They are striking to force the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB) to pay health visitors the rate for the job, and are balloting again to extend their strike. They are just as strong and determined as they were when the strike began on 23 February.
Health visitors play a vital role in supporting the parents of new-born babies and ensuring children have a good start to life.
In a process that began in 2021, health board bosses signed an internal job grading which matched them as Band 7, acknowledging a Masters qualification. But the board has ignored their own job description, costing many of the workers £9,000 a year.
After being stonewalled for five years, the health visitors started strike action.
They lobbied the Senedd (Welsh parliament) on 16 June when the newly installed Plaid Cymru health minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor, was answering a question about the dispute. He had been vociferous in their support when in opposition before the May Senedd elections, but is tight-lipped now he’s a minister, repeating the same mantra as the Labour health minister had done before being voted out.
Plaid and Labour have switched roles but it’s the same tune – the health board and the union must sort it out between them. But from day one it has been clear it’s the Welsh health minister who must sort this out by instructing the CTMUHB to pay the rate for the job. Instead, Mabon said because Unite is taking strike action it cannot take part in the social partnership process to standardise the application of the pay bands in the Welsh health boards.
But the reason Unite is in dispute is because CTMUHB refused to respect the job evaluation process in the first place, or engage in any way with the union or its workers. As Unite pointed out at the TUC Cymru conference, social partnership does not work for the Cwm Taf health visitors.
This highlights the warnings about social partnership that Socialist Party members have long made – that it enmeshes workers in a procedure that always works to the advantage of the employer. Unions are involved in meaningless consultations when it suits the employer, but the employer can just walk away when it suits them.
- Lead reps Kerry Parry and Jo Penny will be addressing the National Shop Stewards Network Conference.
