‘We love our jobs and glad we didn’t have to take drastic action,’ said one staff member
Unison members protesting about healthcare support workers’ pay in Swansea Bay (Image: Natasha Hirst Photography)
More than 1,100 healthcare support workers in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot will receive payments they have long been campaigning for by Christmas.
Some of them staged a protest on Tuesday, October 21, about the pay band issue and handed in a petition signed by more than 2,000 people. They have previously voted to strike.
Swansea Bay University Health Board held a special meeting on Thursday, October 23, and agreed to move 1,133 healthcare support workers from band two to band three and provide backdated pay and compensation payments. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here.
Chairwoman Jan Williams said healthcare support workers were the “bedrock” of the organisation’s 12,800-strong workforce and apologised for the distress caused by a decision last month to pause what were previously-agreed payments, acknowledging those affected had felt betrayed.
Healthcare support workers look after patients, carrying out duties such as personal care, but trade union Unison argued that those employed by Swansea Bay University Health Board were undertaking more complex roles, such as monitoring blood and doing electrocardiogram tests, which warranted a higher pay band.
Strike action was averted in December 2024 when the health board agreed with Unison to move staff to band three via a validation process with payments due by the end of December 31 this year. When that process was paused last month staff were angry. Mrs Williams said healthcare support workers provided a vital patient care role but this “would ring hollow” to those affected. “And we are so very sorry for the anger, the distress, the disappointment that our decision in September has caused everyone,” she said. “We have seen, we have listened to, we have read about the profound effect that decision had.”
Mrs Williams said the health board had been acting in good faith because it had wanted to ensure its healthcare support workers had parity with their peers across Wales and had also been told that a national agreement was nearing completion.
She said the national agreement hadn’t been concluded but the health board could now confirm the payments in December’s pay packets, which were in line with the latest draft of the national agreement, with backing from the Welsh Government.
Mrs Williams said the health board understood trust had been damaged. “As a board we are going to do our utmost to rebuild that trust and we are going to start today,” she said.
Other health board members welcomed the move. Nicola Matthews, an independent member, said it was “the right thing to do”.
Chief executive Abigail Harris said it was a complex matter, thanked Unison and healthcare support workers for sharing their concerns, and said in her view it had taken the health board too long to get to this point. She said healthcare support workers probably had the greatest impact on patients who would be “feeling at their worst in unfamiliar surroundings away from their home and families”.
In a statement the health board said healthcare support workers would receive their compensatory payments, salary arrears, and new band three salaries in the December pay run.
Unison said the decision was long-overdue recognition for the predominantly female, low-paid workforce.
Tanya Bull, Unison Cymru head of health, thanked the Welsh Government for its “significant intervention” and said: “Healthcare support workers represented by Unison in Swansea Bay have fought hard to be recognised and rewarded properly.”
Morriston Hospital healthcare support worker Melissa Lewis said: “This money means a lot as we have worked for years to be recognised and all our hard work has paid off. We love our jobs and glad we didn’t have to take drastic action.”
Neath Port Talbot Hospital healthcare support worker Hollie Arnold said: “This is an absolute win for the hardworking healthcare support workers who have for too long gone above and beyond delivering high-class care and being underpaid for it. This finally means we can get recognised for our hard work and dedication.”
And Cefn Coed Hospital healthcare support worker Tony Roberts said: “This is a victory for the low-paid workers of the NHS. It’s not just about money; it’s about being recognised for the invaluable work we do.”