Yahoo News Arrowe Park staff reach 'breaking point' as they announce strike
Staff at Arrowe Park Hospital will walk out on strike next week as a row over pay escalates.
Members of trade union Unite who work as recovery theatre practitioners, caring for patients recovering from serious operations at the Upton hospital, will strike from July 1 to July 7. The union says they are not being paid appropriately by their employer, the Wirral University Hospital Trust.
According to Unite, the workers are being paid a band below the level of responsibility and duties they are providing. Workers have been left up to £8,000 out of pocket due to being wrongly graded, says the union.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a disgrace that an NHS employer is refusing to acknowledge the hard work our members are doing and the vital care they provide to patients. The Wirral Trust must immediately do the right thing and pay our members the proper rate for the job.”
According to the trade union, staff are suffering financially and are reporting high levels of physical and mental illness due to stress and burnout.
One staff member told Unite: “I am at breaking point and feeling frustrated and saddened as to how I have been treated. We are working equally to our band 6 [staff grade] colleagues but not getting the equal pay. As the trust have continued to refuse to acknowledge the skills and knowledge of that of the recovery practitioner.” Staff went on strike earlier this year - on April 16-17, May 7-9 and 23-24, and June 3-6.
Unite regional officer Derek Jones added: “The Wirral trust is behaving appallingly. It knows full well it is in the wrong but it is failing to acknowledge the roles and responsibilities of these vital staff and to pay them their proper pay. Our members are furious and will not stand for it – they are prepared to take any strike action needed to force the trust to come back to the negotiating table.”
A Wirral University Teaching Hospital spokesperson said: "The Trust has not failed to acknowledge the responsibilities of these staff members. There is an established process for reviewing banding, which unfortunately, Unite members have chosen not to participate in thus far. In our effort to resolve this dispute, we have offered additional flexible options for staff to provide evidence of work at a higher grade. It is therefore disappointing that strike action is being pursued.
"The Trust has implemented comprehensive arrangements to prepare for this industrial action, ensuring that there are no delays or disruptions to patient care."
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