MORE than 300 staff at Colchester’s NHS trust have voted to strike after “years of not being paid the full rate” and for not getting paid appropriately for doing clinical tasks, according to the trade union Unison.

Unison said 96 per cent of clinical support staff at the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which covers Colchester, have voted to strike after “years of not being paid the full rate for the job”.

Unison says staff employed on Band 2 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, who undertake personal care tasks such as bathing or feeding patients, have been “regularly” undertaking clinical tasks which should be paid the higher Band 3 rate.

Bosses at ESNEFT said Band 2 workers were moved to Band 3 in March following a review made in partnership with trade unions, including Unison.

Clinical tasks include inserting cannulas, carrying out electrocardiogram (ECG) tests or taking blood, which should mean workers are paid at the band 3 level, according to a July 2021 NHS review.​

UNISON Eastern regional organiser Sam Older said: “These healthcare support workers are dedicated to providing exceptional care to their patients, but the trust has been exploiting their goodwill for years to get care on the cheap”

“Staff are fed up of being shortchanged. They’ve tried to get a fair deal through months of negotiations, yet senior managers are refusing to put their hands in their pockets.​

Review - Nick Hulme Pay - ESNEFT chief executive Nick Hulme said he has been working with Unison to resolve the issue of 'back pay'

Nick Hulme, the chief executive of ESNEFT, said: “We’ve been working closely with our trade union colleagues for two years to implement changes following a national review of Band 2 and 3 health support worker job roles.

“This has included the amount of back pay that will be awarded to colleagues. Although the trust’s provisional offer was accepted by other unions, this offer was rejected by Unison."

Mr Hulme said the trust had been “actively working” with Unison with the support of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to resolve the issue about “back pay”.

He added: “We had hoped we had come to a mutually agreed position after those discussions, which we understood Unison would be recommending to its members to avoid industrial action.”