Lincolnshire health visitors begin month-long strike
Fiona Simpson
Monday, November 18, 2019
Health visitors have begun an “unprecedented” month-long strike in protest at "divide and rule" plans by Lincolnshire County Council over pay.
Unite members began industrial action, planned to last until 13 December, the union said.
The latest action in the escalating dispute follows 32 days of stoppages, with the loss of around 450 shifts, taken by health visitors across the county since July.
Unite claim members have lost more than £2,000 a year in earnings since being transferred under Agenda for Change terms from the NHS to county council control in 2017.
It added that they were also objecting to the county council's insistence on different contracts for grade 9 and grade 10 health visitors.
The union is arguing that since all health visitors have the same community nurse qualifications their role is equivalent to a grade 10 post and they are entitled to be paid the same rate.
It claimed that the council had offered 73 higher paid grade 10 roles to health visitors following strike action in July along with “improved transitional payments for health visitors transferring from Agenda for Change contract terms to the council contract at grade 10.”
However, members are unhappy with the offer as it would mean the two-tier payment system remaining in place. Unite said it planned to launch an appeal over the lower grade job description later this week.
Unite representatives are set to meet with bosses at conciliation service Acas tomorrow (November 19).
Unite regional officer Steve Syson said: “The situation is serious as the council is haemorrhaging health visitors who are leaving for better-paid positions elsewhere.
“We fundamentally disagree with the council that this lower-paid role is appropriate. Therefore, in tandem with the strike action, we are appealing the grade 9 job description through the appeals procedure in the job evaluation scheme. The appeal will be submitted this week.”
Unite represents 76 of the 126 health visitors employed by the county council who voted by 67 per cent to strike.
Following the vote to strike, Paresh Patel, the union's regional secretary for the East Midlands, said: "This is a crisis entirely of this cash-rich council's making and this month-long strike by health visitors is unprecedented in modern times."
Lincolnshire County Council said of the 37 health visitor that voted to strike on 11 have taken action today.
Heather Sandy, interim director of education, said: "It is disappointing that despite constructive discussions with representatives from Unite, this industrial action is being pursued. It is important to highlight that many of these issues are part of a national campaign by Unite which has less relevance in Lincolnshire than elsewhere. In Lincolnshire, we have increased the number of health visitors across the county, we have maintained the number of visits families receive from a health visitor and we have increased pay for this workforce in line and above the NHS.
"The council's career progression scheme, which opened in October, means no staff member has to remain on a static salary – all can move on in their careers and be financially rewarded beyond that available in the NHS. Unite's suggestion that all health visitors should have a starting salary £3500 above their colleagues in the health service is financially unsustainable and would have serious implications for bordering NHS service recruitment.
"Whilst some health visitors have voted to strike, we expect a large proportion of our health visiting staff will continue to deliver safe and effective support to families and their children, as they have since joining Lincolnshire County Council."
