Bolton hospital staff strike today and tomorrow for NHS pay

Cleaners, catering staff, porters and security staff were among Bolton NHS workers who started a 48-hour strike for fair pay this morning, staffing picket lines from 7am, with the promise of more action to follow if their pay issue isn’t resolved. The UNISON members’ strike has been provoked by their employers’ refusal to pay nationally agreed pay rates for NHS staff to staff employed by a subsidiary company that the trust set up and owns. This is even though the company –  iFM Bolton – said last year that it would pay agreed NHS rate for the job under Agenda for Change terms. Staff in other hospitals doing the same jobs are already getting the agreed higher rates of pay. iFM Bolton management has recently offered to pay staff the living wage – which is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation and is currently set at £8.75 an hour, but with a new rate due to be announced on 5 November. This is still less than the lowest NHS pay rate which is now £8.93 per hour. The gap is anticipated to grow in future years, reaching up £1,500 a year in 2020/21, assuming future living wage increases are in line with the average of 26p an hour for each year since 2011. Andrea Lee (pictured) works as a domestic at Royal Bolton hospital and speaking ahead of today’s action, she said: “I’ve never had to go on strike before, but we’re all standing together and I’m not scared. “We’re so upset with management. They seem to think that we’re worth less than domestics i...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News health care Industrial action NHS nhs pay NHS subcos one team for patient care pay up now private contractors wholly owned subsidiaries Source Type: news