Healthcare staff settle year-long pay dispute

Healthcare assistants had staged a number of strikes in recent months

Hundreds of healthcare assistants are to receive a wage rise and back pay in a resolution to a year-long dispute.

Staff from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust called for an increase to reflect clinical work which carries a higher pay grade.

The settlement, described by Unison as "substantial", will see eligible staff members lifted from a band 2 to band 3, with pay backdated to July 2019.

The trusts confirmed the deal had been accepted.

Unison's Clare Williams said the staff campaign had been "hard fought", adding: "These healthcare assistants have been working above their pay band for many years.

"It should never have come to strike action, but it’s good the trusts returned to negotiations and agreed the back pay staff deserved."

'Huge relief'

The difference in pay between band 2 and the top of band 3 is just under £2,000 per year, but settlements will vary depending on a staff member's contacted hours, a union spokesman explained.

Michelle Cook, a healthcare assistant at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, said the deal was "a huge relief".

"We just wanted to get paid fairly for the work we do and recognised for how long we’ve been doing much more complicated and involved tasks."

Staff had held four strikes this year, with a fifth stoppage suspended this month while further negotiations took place.

In a statement, the trusts said representatives met the union on 17 June and agreed to add a further two years to a previous offer of back pay.

It added: "This offer has now been balloted with Unison members and accepted."