Strikers from four hospitals in Greater Manchester joined a march on Wednesday
NHS workers across Greater Manchester walked out this week in a dispute over pay and conditions. The workers—operating theatre staff, including clinical support workers, housekeepers and nurses—are overworked and underpaid.
It’s putting not only them, but their patients at risk.
But the Unison union members showed that they won’t accept the destruction of their terms and conditions to plug the gaps in understaffed theatres.
And rain did little to dampen the mood on Wednesday. Hundreds of workers across four sites—Salford Royal, Royal Oldham, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield General—came together in Salford for a march, picket and rally.
Sarah, an operating theatre worker at Salford Royal, told Socialist Worker on the picket line that workers were “angry and stretched to their limit”. She explained that the conditions in theatres are “shocking” and were leading to “a high level of staff sickness and burnout”.
Under NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions, workers who work beyond their 37.5 hour week in their role should receive overtime at time-and‑a‑half. But the bosses, the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) NHS Foundation Trust, are refusing to pay it.
Instead, these workers are being pushed towards the NHS Professionals (NHSP) agency to pick up additional shifts at a lower rate of pay.
“We are working full time and being forced to pick up extra shifts with NHSP because our wages are already quite low,” Sarah said.
She explained the rate of pay through NHSP was reduced in January. “We’re having to work one and a half shifts to get one day’s pay,” said Sarah.
She added “the trust is taking advantage of how desperate people are.
“They put NHSP shifts out to staff knowing some people will still pick up the overtime shifts to top up their wage.
“The pay through the agency used to be decent. But now, they want to pay us less than our hourly rate and there’s talk that they’re going to drop it again,” said Sarah.
This is how the trust avoids filling vacant posts and supporting the current staff.
“Many of our international co-workers send money home to their families so they are forced to do the extra work through NHSP,” said Sarah.
“But everyone is struggling because of the cost of living crisis. Staff are using food banks and relying on vouchers for their children’s school clothing.”
She argued that the fight exposes a deeper crisis inside the NHS. Workers provide an essential service in extremely difficult circumstances.
But the trust is putting people in unsafe situations.
“Understaffing is having a huge impact on patient care and safety,” she said. “You get what you pay for. If people are being paid less, then they have to work more.
“That means you’re getting a stretched workforce and that’s where mistakes happen. And there are loads and loads of mistakes being made at the trust.
“There’s patients being sent to the theatre that haven’t had a consent form. We’ve put people to sleep and had to wake them up and say, ‘we’ve failed our safety checks.’
“We call these ‘never events’ because they should never happen.
“It’s things like wrong-site surgery or leaving instruments inside patients. Those things have been happening as well.”
Laura, a scrub nurse, said that workers are increasingly questioning whether they want to continue working for the trust.
You’re getting a stretched workforce and that’s where mistakes happen. And there are loads and loads of mistakes being made at the trust
“Nurses don’t go into the profession for the money. It’s a vocation, but goodwill alone doesn’t pay the bills.
“We’re still paying our university fees. And we’ve still got to pay for our registration fees, which are now over a hundred pounds a year and set to go up again.”
She explained that some people are not picking up the shifts because NHSP is not paying the correct overtime rate.
“It’s not just about the money, staff are picking up shifts because they know how chronically short-staffed we are.
“We’ve got really high sickness across the NHS and we’re running operating lists and ward areas with not enough staff to ensure safety.
“There’s also a real problem of what happens if not enough staff are picking these shifts up. That’s going to have an impact on patients.”
A Unison rep who works for the trust told Socialist Worker that the dispute is having a huge impact.
After striking in June and July, NCA bosses tabled an offer to resolve the dispute. But, the offer was withdrawn before discussions could take place.
“The trust withdrew it, saying that it has to be a national negotiation because it will have an effect on every other trust.
“And that’s true, winning the strike could create a precedent for other NHS workers demanding the same deal.
“Because many trusts are doing the same. They’re pushing people to lose pay by forcing them to work for cheaper rates through an agency.”
She said that workers are striking because they care so much about the NHS that they are prepared to fight for it.
“These aren’t factory workers being moved between production lines. They are healthcare workers dealing with patients.
“NCA is counting on us getting tired. They’re hoping that enough pressure and intimidation will break the dispute. But we’re not blinking first.”
As a result the trust have used “deplorable tactics” to try and undermine the strike.
“They’re trying to emotionally manipulate staff by telling them they’ve had to cancel 800 appointments this week.
“They’re saying these are time critical patients and that harm will be done if we don’t see them straight away.
“But we’ve raised concerns about staffing and patient care for over 24 months. And they ignored us and failed to do anything about it.
“And now suddenly we’re the ones causing a crisis?
“They’ve had a recruitment freeze for quite a while, it’s unofficial now. They’ve said they’re recruiting but we’re not seeing it.”
She added, “We know that there is an increasing demand on the NHS. But that cannot mean forcing exhausted staff to work endless hours for less money.
“The answer to understaffing is to recruit more people, retain the workers already there and pay them properly. It’s not to fill permanent positions through an agency system.”
The bosses may be digging their heels in and refusing to come back to the table, but the workers know they can win.
Critical care workers at NCA won their own overtime fight earlier this year. They struck several times and eventually won the right to choose properly paid overtime at time-and-a-half.
That victory matters because it shows that collective action can force the bosses to make concessions.
They’ve had a recruitment freeze for quite a while, it’s unofficial now. They’ve said they’re recruiting but we’re not seeing it.
We have to get behind the workers in this fight. It has implications for the NHS that extend far beyond Manchester.
Everyone who has watched waiting lists grow has something at stake. Everyone who knows what understaffing does to the NHS does too.
Workers have shown that they are prepared to fight. If NCA continues to refuse to pay the contractual rate, workers should escalate the strike.
Unions should be using the theatre workers’ fight to organise solidarity across NCA and beyond.
Other NHS workers should visit the picket lines. And union branches should send messages of support too.
The dispute needs to build a bigger challenge to the understaffing and backdoor privatisation that has brought the NHS to crisis point.
Saanvi and a number of her colleagues on the picket line were recruited from abroad to work in the NHS. She told Socialist Worker that she’d brought her family to Britain nearly five years ago.
“They recruited me from India, so they should pay us well. We are not demanding extra, just what we are owed.
“The crisis is increasing every week, but the salaries are stagnant, they don’t increase at all.
“Until you have been here for five years, you are not entitled to get any benefit other than your salary. Everything depends on your salary.
“So, most of us do extra work just to make ends meet.
“For survival you spare your health, your family time, everything.
“You don’t leave your family behind and go to work and have no family time, unless you have to.”
She explained that people were “afraid” that striking might impact their visa status.
She said the trust sent “intimidating, bullying letters out” to force some staff to cross the picket line.
Saanvi received the letter and explained that a majority of the people targeted were workers on sponsorship visas. Migrant workers with families dependent on their sponsorship have a lot on the line.
“The trust sent out threatening letters to some people. They said that if you don’t come to work, then your registration will be revoked and you will be reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.”
“That’s why many of our colleagues didn’t come forward, they were afraid. They left everything behind to come to this country. If something happened to their visa status, what would they do?
“You have to be very brave to come out.”
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