The workers have won! Thanks for your support!
Since winning in December 2023, the workers have been retrospectively re-banded up to April 2018, recieving up to 6 years of back pay and increased wages.
Thank you for taking action! Together you showed the CEO how much we value our NHS workers. And you reminded the workers that there was a whole movement ready to back them up.
Please can you take a moment to suport Healthcare Assistants in the Wirral who are still fighting for fair pay: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/pay-fair-for-patient-care-support-wirral-s-clinical-support-workers
Dear Simon Constable,
Healthcare Assistants (HCAs), Theatre Support Workers (TSWs) and Midwifery Support Workers (MSWs) employed at Warrington and Halton hospitals give invaluable care to some of Warrington and Halton’s most vulnerable residents – but for years they’ve been undervalued and underpaid by your trust.
Support staff at the Trust are employed on Band 2 and, as such, should only undertake personal care such as assisting patients with feeding, toileting and bathing. However a survey of hundreds of staff found that the vast majority of HCAs, TSWs and MSWs are regularly and routinely undertaking clinical duties above their pay grade which should be paid at least Band 3. Duties include taking bloods, urinalysis, cannulation, wound dressings and more.
The difference between Band 2 and Band 3 NHS pay is nearly £2,000 per year – it is absolutely outrageous that dedicated staff, who already went above and beyond during the pandemic, are being systematically underpaid for the work they do.
Healthcare Assistants in other NHS Trusts across the North West have come together in their trade union, UNISON, to win Band 3 and secure back-pay to reward and recognise the years they’ve been undertaking clinical duties.
A number of Trusts – including Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the Northern Care Alliance, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, and Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust – have all re-banded their HCAs and paid back-pay up to 1 April 2018.
Why are HCAs employed at Warrington and Halton hospitals worth any less?
As concerned residents of Warrington, Halton and beyond, we call on the Trust to show your workers the respect they deserve by paying them appropriately for the work they do and rewarding the years they’ve worked above their pay band by paying back-pay to 1 April 2018 as an absolute minimum.
Why is this important?
Hundreds of nursing support staff at Warrington and Halton hospitals have been working above their pay grade for years.
We are calling on their trust to pay them the wage they deserve and to award back-pay for years of underpayment.
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