Unison considering next steps after district nurses vote to strike

Unison has secured a mandate from its district nurse members at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC) to strike and is now considering next steps, Nursing in Practice understands.

The update comes as around 130 local district nurses continue to wait for a conclusion to a job evaluation request submitted by district nurses working at the health board in 2023.

Unison says the district nurses in greater Glasgow could strike for the first time in a local dispute since the 1980s if the dispute cannot be resolved.

In a statutory ballot, which closed last Tuesday, 96% of Unison members said they would be prepared to strike.

The district nurses at NHS GGC are currently working on band 6 of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale but say their increasingly complicated responsibilities should be paid at a higher pay grade.

They also hold a Specialist Practitioner Qualification (SPQ) in district nursing.

Related Article: District nurses signal appetite to strike in dispute with health board 

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Scotland, Unite, and GMB Scotland launched a grievance against NHS GGC in May and are also consulting staff on their willingness to take strike action.

Striking is the ‘last’ option

Unison Scotland area organiser Henrietta Cameron said the district nurses involved have ‘had enough’.

‘These nurses are committed to caring for their patients out in the community, going on strike is the last thing they want to do.

‘But they are determined to get a fair deal. Staff just want to be paid fairly, senior managers must show these NHS staff the respect they deserve,’ Ms Cameron explained.

Unison has called on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to re-evaluate its district nurse jobs, including retrospective re-banding and back pay.

An ‘ongoing’ dispute

In a separate indicative ballot against NHS GGC, which ran from 26 August until 9 September, 98% of voting Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members said they would be willing to take industrial action including strike action.

Barbara Sweeney, senior officer at the RCN Scotland, said the union’s dispute with NHS GGC was ‘ongoing’.

‘While we continue to meet with representatives of the health board in the hope finding a resolution, preparations for a statutory ballot on industrial action are underway.

‘Our members have already expressed their deep dissatisfaction and anger in the way they have been treated by voting in our indicative ballot,’ Ms Sweeney explained.

She said industrial action remains ‘a last resort’ but said NHS GGC have left their district nursing teams with ‘no alternative’.

‘The health board still has the opportunity to avoid strike action by respecting and following the job evaluation process,’ Ms Sweeney added.

Related Article: Strike threat from NHS Unison members

Last month, 98% of RCN district nurse members working in NHS GGC said they would be willing to take industrial action including strike action in an indicative ballot on the issue.

A consultative ballot of GMB Scotland members also revealed full support for industrial action if there was no swift resolution to the job evaluation.

In August, nurses involved in the dispute staged a protest outside the offices of NHS GGC.

Last year, Nursing in Practice reported on the case of two district nurses who were employed by NHS Tayside in Scotland, who were continuing to fight for a role regrade and related pay rise that was first proposed in a review by their employer in 2018.

A spokesperson for NHS GGC said: ‘We greatly value the work of our district nurses and fully support the modernisation of roles.

‘We fully accept that the process of review has gone on for far too long at NHSGGC and we recognise how important it is for us to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

‘We have set out a potential way forward which would align the new job description, once evaluated, to those staff with the required qualifications and who are undertaking the role.’

Related Article: Unison considering next steps after district nurses vote to strike

The spokesperson said NHS GGC ‘will also support’ any district nurses who wants to undertake the additional qualifications outlined in the job description.

‘We are disappointed that we have not yet been able to reach an agreement with trade unions, however we have offered further dates to meet again with our trade union colleagues to find a way forward for our staff and for our services.

‘We have recently met with trade unions and remain in dialogue as we seek a resolution to this matter,’ the spokesperson explained.