Glasgow District Nurses Rally

The Scotsman

GLASGOW. JB Russell House, Gartnavel Campus, 1055 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G12 0XH  District nurses in Glasgow rally over grades and pay as health board meets.  District nurses in Glasgow rally today as strikes over grades and pay loom. The demonstration outside a meeting of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, led by GMB Scotland and other unions, comes after district nurses voiced overwhelming support for industrial action over delayed job evaluations. They are currently on Band 6 of the Agenda for Change pay scale but believe their skills, expertise and responsibilities justify a higher grade.  The unions have lodged a formal grievance with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde claiming the long delays to the job evaluation process, which started in 2022, cannot be justified. GMB Scotland’s consultative ballot of members revealed 100% support for industrial action if there is no swift resolution. Karen Leonard, GMB organiser in NHS Scotland, said: “Our members fully engaged with the process of job evaluation in good faith but that faith has not been justified. “Their skills, qualifications and responsibilities have increased over the last decade to meet the complex needs of patients now living in our communities and only want their changing role to be properly recognised and fairly rewarded. “This process has dragged on for year after year when consensus on the way forward has been reached on a number of occasions only for the goalposts to be moved. “After so many false starts and needless delays, the nurses’ patience has been stretched to breaking point. “They only want to nurse but are being driven towards industrial action by a needlessly protracted process that has left them demoralised but determined to resolve this issue.”

Transcript

00:00What do we want? Fair pay! Now!

00:08Karen Leonard, GMB organiser.

00:11We're here because we're not getting anywhere with the NHS board.

00:14This group of workers have been looking for a fair pay process

00:18to recognise the work that they do for some time now

00:21and we are at a breakdown point with the employer.

00:25We're here for the demonstration hoping that it would put pressure on the employer

00:29to do the right thing and continue the process

00:32and give the workers the pay that they're entitled to.

00:35So we've got district nurses, Greater Glasgow and Clyde district nurses

00:38and there's the full-time organisers and supporters from the trade unions

00:43but we're here with the district nurses to support them.

00:46How unusual is it potentially for nurses to go on strike?

00:49It's very unusual and believe you me, the GMB nurses don't want to go on strike

00:54but the GMB nurses have voted 100% to take action

00:57because they feel that there's been broken promises.

01:00They've got no faith left. They've worked on this in good faith

01:03that they would be paid accordingly for the work that they're doing

01:06and unfortunately that's broken down and where we are now.

01:10Hopefully after today they won't need to take any action.

01:13And if they have to take action?

01:15That will be discussed when we have the mandate for industrial action

01:18but potentially you're talking about strike action.

01:21And who's it likely to affect?

01:22It will affect your patients that aren't in the hospital, the patients that are being cared for at home.

01:28These nurses prevent people from being in the hospital.

01:32They look after folk with exceptional circumstances, extreme conditions

01:37that is keeping beds in the hospital free for people to come in and out.

01:42So that's what it will affect. It will affect patients in home and their families.

01:45What's at the heart of this dispute?

01:47The recognition for the pay that they've done. Their job has changed significantly in years

01:52and the training and expertise that the district nurses now have

01:55goes above and beyond what they used to do.

01:58They're now doing some of the work that used to be GPs.

02:01They are doing the job that GPs used to do and that's got to be accepted and recognised.

02:06And accepting them doing the work, they're just not prepared to pay them for it.

02:09And if you had a message for those making the decisions, those in charge, what would it be?

02:14Do the right thing. Follow your processes and do the right thing by these nurses

02:18and give them the pay that they're entitled to.

02:21You let them do the work, please pay them.

02:24My name's Kayleigh Stainton. I'm a district charge nurse and I work from Pollock Health Centre.

02:29So we're here today at the NHS GGC headquarters.

02:33We're here with all of our unions and the district nurses in Glasgow and Greater Clyde.

02:39We've had an ongoing process with our job evaluations.

02:43We first approached our managers in 2021 and it was officially acknowledged

02:48that our job description had changed in 2022.

02:53It got then signed off in 2023.

02:57Since then it's just been sitting to be submitted and it's been excuse after excuse.

03:02Everybody's had enough now. False promises after false promises.

03:06We're getting told it's getting submitted and then a month later it wasn't submitted.

03:11Either whoever was submitting it's been off sick or who was to submit it's now retired.

03:16And now we're at the stage, we don't really know.

03:19We've not actually got a reason why it's not getting submitted at the moment.

03:22The unions believe it's deliberately getting blocked.

03:25If you had a message for those in charge, what would it be?

03:28Please show the district nurses now that you're appreciating what we do.

03:33Otherwise we're going to have to go and strike.

03:35We really don't want to go and strike.

03:37We love our job, we love our patients.

03:39And all we're asking now is for you to please follow your own policies and procedures.

03:45Where do we want to be?

03:47Where do we want to be?

03:48Where do we want to be?

03:49No!

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