Health Care Assistants (HCAs) at George Eliot Hospital have been campaigning for over eight months to begin negotiations on their re-banding
This follows years of working above and beyond their Band 2 job description, with most HCAs regularly performing Band 3 clinical duties.
In October, over 150 UNISON members signed a collective demands letter outlining their firm and fair requests for the re-banding process.
On 18th December, a delegation of HCA’s handed in 217 signed postcards to the CEO’s secretary. The purpose of this action was to refocus negotiations on two key points:
- Pay protection for all staff moving from Band 2 to Band 3
- Automatic placement at the top of Band 3 for staff with two or more years of service
Each postcard included the HCA’s name and ward, and a small delegation visited the CEO’s office to deliver them personally.
Postcard message:
- Front: “To Adam Carson, GEH CEO – All I want for Christmas is to be paid properly for the work that I do.”
- Back:
“Dear Adam,
We deliver exceptional care every day – please deliver fairness to us.
We recognise the working group set up to correct this historical mis-banding, but we need your commitment to ensure fairness in this process. We ask you to:- Guarantee pay protection for all Band 2 HCAs moving to Band 3
- Ensure staff with 2+ years’ service are placed at the top of Band 3
- Please agree to these key points via our UNISON branch secretary before Christmas Eve.”