End growing NHS pay divide, urges union

UNISON has stressed that the government must find the money to ensure low-paid staff working for private contractors in hospitals receive the same pay rise as colleagues employed by the NHS.

While lowest paid workers in the NHS were given a £2,000 pay rise last year, as part of a three-year deal negotiated by health unions, the union warns that the overwhelming majority of health staff employed on private contracts ‘have not received a penny’.

Claiming that it is having an impact on patient care, as outsourced staff leave in search of better-paid jobs, UNISON says that many outsourced staff haven’t had a wage rise in years and the ‘growing pay divide is affecting the smooth running of the NHS’.

UNISON is urging the government to provide the funding so everyone working in the NHS earns at least £9.03 an hour. At present, many staff employed by private contractors are on the minimum wage, earning just £8.21 an hour.

Sara Gorton, UNISON head of health, said: “All hospital workers are part of the NHS team and should be paid fairly for the important jobs they do. The days of treating them as second class employees in the NHS must end. Staff employed by private contractors are expected to deliver the same exceptional levels of service and also work under immense pressure. It’s only fair they receive the same pay as colleagues, often doing identical jobs but employed by the NHS.

“With ministers all-consumed by Brexit, the growing crisis in hospitals across the land is being ignored. The government found the money to fund the pay rise for health staff, now it must do the same for those on private contracts. A failure to do so risks damaging the health service beyond repair as firms can’t attract or hold on to the staff needed to provide a decent service to the NHS.”