EXCLUSIVE: Trade unions representing district nurses are poised to ballot their members.
District nurses could go on strike because of a pay banding dispute(Image: Getty Images )
Scots nurses could go on strike over a pay dispute with the country’s largest health board.
Trade unions are gearing up to ballot their “demoralised” members over a row with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Barbara Sweeney of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said: “We are considering all the options available including the possibility of asking our members if they would be willing to take industrial action.”
District nurses have a key role in the NHS by visiting people in their own homes or in residential care settings.
An industry source said they ease pressure on hospitals by ensuring patients live independently at home.
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District nurses are currently on Band 6 of the Agenda for Change pay scale, but they believe this does not match their skill, expertise and workload.
Staff in the RCN, UNISON and GMB trade unions are now ready to move to a vote on industrial action over a standoff with the board.
A walk out could pile pressure on services for vulnerable older people.
Sweeney said: “NHSGGC and the six health and social care partnerships have let down their district nursing teams, and in doing so are letting down patients.
“They have failed to follow nationally agreed job evaluation processes and have left this vital group of staff feeling ignored, undervalued and demoralised.
“They have put significant obstacles in the way and left us no option but to escalate. The RCN and other trade unions are now formally in dispute with the health board.
“Our members working in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s district nursing teams are committed to their patients and colleagues. For them, industrial action would absolutely be a last resort. We are hoping the health board will see sense and remove the blockages to job evaluation for this essential group of staff.”
Matt McLaughlin, head of health at UNISON, said: “UNISON’s District Nurse members have had enough of NHS Glasgow’s refusal to evaluate their jobs fairly and within the rules of the accredited job evaluation scheme for this job which was initially accepted as having changed in 2022.
“Despite numerous attempts to reach a fair outcome the health board continues to behave in an unacceptable manner – refusing to evaluate their jobs.
“UNISON is now conducting a consultative ballot for industrial action. NHS Glasgow and Clyde should be clear – our next step is a formal strike ballot.”
He also called on SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray to intervene: “The Cabinet Secretary needs to speak up on this issue and get his managers told to apply the job evaluation scheme or the following industrial action will be on his shoulders!”
Karen Leonard, GMB organiser, 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.”
A spokesperson for NHSGGC said: “We acknowledge the exceptional care that our district nursing teams provide every day. They are a vital part of our health service and play a crucial role in supporting patient care and flow throughout the healthcare system in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. We deeply value their dedication and the difference they make in our communities.
“We also appreciate and understand the frustration that has arisen from the length of time it has taken to progress the job evaluation process. This has been a complex matter, and we recognise the impact that the process to date has had on staff morale.
“To help bring this to a conclusion as quickly and effectively as possible, we recently undertook a rapid review of the process to date and sought expert advice to ensure we are taking the right steps forward. We are committed to working closely with our staff-side colleagues to move this forward and to keep our nursing teams informed throughout.
“We thank our district nurses for their continued professionalism and patience. We remain focused on reaching a conclusion without further delay.”
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