MATERNITY support workers in Grimsby began two weeks of strike action yesterday, over their employer’s failure to compensate them fairly for the many years they were paid incorrectly.
The staff at Grimsby’s Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital were moved up a grade last year in recognition of the extra clinical duties they were carrying out.
But the workers say the hospital needs to reward them for their previous underpaid work.
The maternity support staff had previously been on band 2 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, and after a successful campaign by their union Unison they were moved up to band 3.
Talks between Unison and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust had been progressing, but stalled after the trust’s proposals could see some staff who’ve been in post for decades receive less back pay than colleagues with a few years’ service.
This is a result of the trust’s failure to fairly reflect previous experience when calculating back pay.
Frustrated staff say the trust’s refusal to make a fair offer on back pay has left them with no alternative but to take strike action.
This fortnight of action is the third time they have gone on strike this year, having previously taken part in a two-day strike in July, and a week-long one at the end of August.
According to NHS guidance, healthcare assistants on salary band 2 should only be providing personal care such as bathing and feeding patients, but most of the maternity staff have been undertaking clinical tasks, like taking bloods.
Unison Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Ashley Harper said: ‘Staff are frustrated at the trust’s refusal to pay them the money they’re owed. Maternity support workers are some of the lowest paid staff in the NHS, yet they have long been expected to carry out duties they weren’t being paid properly for.
‘Staff simply want to be paid fairly for their work. That’s not much to ask. I’m appealing directly to the trust’s chief executive to do the right thing and compensate its staff, rather than spending money covering the strike.’
He added: ‘The proposals they’ve got at the moment don’t properly reflect people’s experience.
‘It’s leading to this quite bizarre situation that can arise where potentially somebody with nearly 40 years service can come out with less back pay than someone with four years service. We’ve seen figures to indicate that.’