Gloucestershire NHS staff announce nine more strike days over unfair pay

Specialist healthcare workers at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals are escalating strike action in their campaign for fair pay, says UNISON today (Thursday).

The 37 phlebotomists, who take vital patient blood samples, are to walk out for nine more days after Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust failed to resolve a long-running dispute over their pay and grading.

The next round of action will take place next week from Monday to Thursday (24 to 27 March), followed by five days the following week (Monday 31 March to Friday 4 April), says the union.

This follows three days of strike action, which ended yesterday, after the trust repeatedly missed deadlines to correct the workers’ pay.

The trust has ignored a fair job evaluation process and attempted to get out of its obligations to assess the phlebotomists’ skills and responsibilities, says UNISON. Despite clear evidence that these health workers should be on band 3 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, the trust managers continue to pay them at the lower band 2 grade, meaning they are losing out on around £1 per hour, adds the union.

UNISON South West regional organiser Chris Roche said: “Phlebotomists play a crucial role in patient care, but the trust is treating them with contempt. Instead of following the proper process to evaluate their jobs properly, hospital managers are trying to dodge the issue.

“These NHS workers have already taken strike action, yet the trust continues to delay. Its managers have had more than a year to put things right, but have chosen to ignore the evidence and the workers themselves. Now, faced with yet another failure by their employer, phlebotomists have no choice but to escalate their action.”

Phlebotomist Dawny Elliott said: “Every diagnosis starts with a phlebotomist. We play a vital role in the NHS, yet we’re feeling very overworked, undervalued, and underpaid.

“My colleagues and I are passionate about our jobs, but many of us are struggling to make ends meet. Some are even taking on second jobs just to get by. Our skills and dedication deserve proper recognition. It’s time for fair pay.”