Talks between specialist blood workers and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will restart today (Wednesday) in an effort to end a long-running dispute over pay and job evaluations, says UNISON.
Phlebotomists, who take and handle blood samples from patients at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals, have been on strike since March last year – more than 330 days.
They say they should be paid fairly for the skills and expertise needed for their roles. To achieve this, they should be regraded and given back pay to cover extra duties they’ve been doing for years, adds the union.
Earlier this month, the workers rejected proposals from hospital bosses that they say failed to address their concerns on pay or the nature of the work they do, says UNISON.
UNISON South West regional secretary Tim Roberts said: “Talks restart today and the phlebotomists are hopeful progress can be made so they can return to the jobs they love.
“Staff carefully considered the most recent proposals from the trust, but felt they didn’t address key issues around the future of their roles or them being paid fairly for their work.
“No one wants this dispute to continue. These experienced healthcare workers would like to be back supporting patients and the trust would like services running as normal.”
