Northumbria members prepare to ballot

Hundreds of UNISON members at Northumbria Healthcare are preparing to ballot on industrial action to defend their terms and conditions.

The members are staff who transferred to the trust from the Newcastle and North of Tyne primary care trusts and the Northumberland care trust lat year.

The include occupational therapists, social workers, community nurses and health visitors.

UNISON accuses Northumbria Healthcare foundation trust of refusing to enter into meaningful negotiations over changes to the terms and conditions of staff who provide vital community healthcare services, relied upon by some of the most vulnerable patients.

The proposed changes include halving expenses for staff who use their own car to provide community health services, from 47p a mile to 24p.

The higher rate will only be available to staff who use a fleet car provided by the trust, which the union says it makes a profit on.

A survey of UNISON members affected carried out last week showed that 98.6% were prepared to take industrial action over the trust’s unilateral imposition of the change.

“We understand the financial strains that the NHS is under to find unprecedented levels of efficiency savings,” said branch secretary George Barron, “however we cannot accept the trust’s attack upon our members which will leave many massively out of pocket.

“It is unfair and will unfairly impact on those delivering some of the most vital community health services.”

Regional organiser Keith Blackburn called on trust management “to abandon the unilateral imposition of this cynical policy, and engage in meaningful negotiations with trade unions.”

UNISON in healthcare

UNISON in the north east