Welsh healthcare workers: “3 per cent pay offer not enough”

Porters, cleaners, nurses, paramedics and other health workers say the 3 per cent pay award announced by Welsh government falls short

Embargoed until: 00.01 hours Friday 25 June 2021

WALES SURVEY SHOWS HEALTH DECLINED FOR THIRD OF HOME WORKERS

The mental and physical health of a third of people working from home in Wales has deteriorated because of the new ways of working.

The same proportion of workers have not received any health and safety guidance about working from home.

These are some of key findings from the biggest Welsh survey of its kind into the effects of working from home.

UNISON Cymru Wales surveyed 950 workers delivering public services across local government; health; higher education; further education; police and justice; water; environment; transport; community and energy sectors.

The trade union says, whilst many have benefitted from working from home, too few employers have fully considered all the implications for their staff of home working and are not providing health and safety guidance.

UNISON’s survey shows a third of home workers are working longer hours and report a decline in their work-life balance.

Home workers reported experiencing musculoskeletal pain, feeling more fatigued, disrupted sleep patterns and eye strain.

The trade union wants employers to immediately act to ensure public service workers working from home have all the support they require.

UNISON Cymru Wales’ survey of home working found: -

• 34 per cent were not provided with any health and safety guidance about working from home
• 62 per cent say their employer did not conduct a homeworking risk assessment
• 50 per cent are now doing more work (31 per cent the same amount)
• 34 per cent are working more hours (59 per cent the same hours)
• 35 per cent say their physical health has deteriorated
• 34 per cent say their mental health has deteriorated
• 27 per cent say their work-life balance has been negatively impacted

UNISON also points to generally lower paid workers on the front line in their communities, NHS staff, care workers, refuse workers and many others who by the nature of their jobs do not have a choice about whether they wish to work from home. The union says, generally better paid workers and managers have been able to benefit from home working.

Lianne Dallimore, UNISON Cymru Wales Local Government Committee chair, said,

“People are working harder and longer hours from our homes and it’s having an impact. A third of employees haven’t been given any health and safety guidance and there is a direct link to increased health problems and worsening work-life balance as personal time is consumed by work.

“This isn’t the kind of society I want to live in. Out of the Covid disaster, we have the opportunity to shape a fairer and kinder world. That means employers being more pro-active to support staff in the new ways of working and listening to their views and involving their trade unions.

“We have to be very wary of unfair divides opening up in society too, between the generally low paid front-line workers, for whom working from home is not an option and better paid who may be able to choose where they work.

“Lower paid workers must be better valued by society; they kept our communities going when times were at their darkest in lockdown.”

Dave Rees, UNISON Cymru Wales convenor, said,

“Home working under lockdown has adjusted the lives of many, but not everyone has been equally effected. Many employers expect more work to be done by their workforce for the same wages and they have ignored their duty of care to ensure employees’ safety and wellbeing. This is not acceptable.

“UNISON’s calling for Welsh government to ensure employers are providing their public service workers with all the necessary support for home working.”

Notes for editors

• UNISON surveyed 947 workers delivering public services in the community, health, local government, further education, higher education, police and justice, water, environment, transport and energy sectors, in April 2021

Q. Before the Covid pandemic, which of the following best describes your job?

I never/ rarely work from home                                                      77.4%

Occasionally I work from home                                                     14%

I regularly work from home                                                            6.1%

I work from home most days of the week                                     2.4%

Q. Since the Covid pandemic started in March 2020, have you worked from home some or all of the time?

Yes, all of time                                                                                  54.9%

Yes, some of the time                                                                     34.6%

No                                                                                                       10.5%

Q. If not, do you think it would be possible for your job to be done from home if you had the right support?

Yes                                                                                                     16.2%

No                                                                                                       78.8%

I don’t know                                                                                      5.1%

Q. Did your employer conduct a homeworking risk assessment?

Yes                                                                                                     38.8%

No                                                                                                       61.7%

Q. Did your employer provide you with any health and safety guidance about working from home?

Yes                                                                                                     66.4%

No                                                                                                       33.6%

Q. Whilst working from home during the pandemic, have you got as much work done as when you’re working in the workplace?

More work                                                                                         50.2%

Same amount of work                                                                     31.2%

Less work                                                                                          18.6%

Q. Have you continued to work your contracted hours whilst working from home?

More hours                                                                                       34.1%

Same hours                                                                                      58.7%

Less hours                                                                                        7.3%

Q. Working from home, has contact from your line manager been…

More frequent                                                                                   22.6%

Same                                                                                                  45.9%

Less frequent                                                                                   31.5%

Q. Has working from home effected your physical health?

Improved                                                                                            20.6%

Stayed same                                                                                     44.5%

Deteriorated                                                                                      35%

Q. How has working from home impacted on your physical health?

I’ve started experiencing musculoskeletal pain such as

backache/ hip pain                                                                          27%

I feel more fatigued                                                                         31.8%

I have developed a poor sleep pattern                                         23.7%

I have experienced eye strain                                                        23.4%

Other                                                                                                  12.6%

I have experienced no physical health problem                         38.6%

Q. How has working from home impacted on your mental health and well-being?

Improved                                                                                            18.7 %

Stayed the same                                                                              47.5%

Deteriorated                                                                                      33.8%

Q. How has working from home effected your work-life balance?

Improved                                                                                            43.9%

Stayed the same                                                                              28.7%

Deteriorated                                                                                      27.4%

Q. Where would you like to work in the long term?

Permanently working from home                                                  14.6%

Agile working (office and homeworking)                                      71.7%

Fully office based                                                                             13.8%

Q. What are the barriers that would make long-term working from home undesirable for you?

Health and safety considerations                                                 18.2%

Mental health and well-being                                                        50.8%

Costs too high                                                                                  13.8%

Family circumstances don’t suit homeworking                           14.6%

I am unable to adhere fully to GDPR regulations in my home 12%

Other                                                                                                  39.9%

Contact

Alastair Gittins, UNISON Cymru Wales press officer on 07816 53 83 97

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Please see below report on behalf of your Cymru/Wales NEC member , can you please disseminate to all branches , Committees , Regional Council , Forums and anyone else you feel would benefit from below.

NEC MEETING 7^TH APRIL 2021

UNISON’s number one priority remains the support of members who have been delivering public services for over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, general secretary Christina McAnea told the union’s national executive council (NEC) at an online meeting today (Wednesday).

But the union is also focussed on what will happen in the post-COVID recovery, particularly in terms of members’ pay, and it will work to ensure public services and the interests of the union’s members are central to the elections taking place across the UK on 6 May.

The union also continues to “look outwards”, with the general secretary warning that as long as COVID-19 rages in other parts of the world the virus can still “come back to harm us in the UK”.

Reflecting on a mixed few months, the general secretary said the Supreme Court’s decision last month, which failed to establish that care workers should be paid the national minimum wage for every hour of their sleep-in shifts, was a “major blow”.

“The decision makes a mockery of national minimum wage legislation,” said Ms McAnea, “but we will continue the fight. We will be keeping a close eye on employers changing rates of pay and we will be pushing the government to change the legislation.

“UNISON will be redoubling our efforts to achieve meaningful reform of social care across the UK.”

The general secretary also said that the fight for fair pay for members would be stepped up, with the union “raising the temperature on pay” with a coordinated campaign supporting individual sector-specific actions while taking account of national variations across the UK.

Pay would also feature in work across the union leading up to the various elections around the UK on 6 May for councils, police and crime commissioners and national assemblies. “The results of these elections will have a direct impact on the lives of our members,” the general secretary said.

Ms McAnea also noted that: “We continue to be a union campaigning on wider international issues and will continue to ensure that vaccines are being made available in developing countries. This is a global pandemic and it needs a global response.”

The NEC also passed motions ahead of the special delegate conference in June on the impact of COVID-19 on UNISON members, public services and working life and securing an equal and sustainable post-pandemic settlement.

The NEC also:

◾heard how January was a record month for new members joining the union, with education and young members being particularly strong

◾welcomed the record number of health and safety reps being trained

◾recommitted to the importance of member and activist education and union learning reps after the government closed the union learning fund

◾had an update on arrangements for the special delegate conference in June

◾welcomed UNISON wins for health members at Frimley Health Foundation Trust and local government members at Chesterfield Borough Council

◾agreed to work with the Labour Party to counter the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which threatens to curb the right to peaceful protests

◾sent a message of solidarity to members of the public sector confederation currently on trial in Turkey.

Please see attached Campaigns bulletin  

I hope you find this helpful.

Regards,  

Please stay safe and look after yourself .

I hopefully look forward to seeing you in 2021 .

Kind regards

Mark Fisher 

Your Cymru/Wales NEC Member

A proper pay rise is crucial to keep the NHS running, says UNISON

A pay rise of at least £2,000 is crucial to retain, reward and recruit all the NHS staff that have given so much in the past year, says UNISON. 

Earlier today, health workers helped UNISON present its evidence to the NHS pay review body. 

This includes data from a survey of 10,000 NHS staff working across the UK outlining concerns over pay, the status of NHS employees and their confidence in the government, says UNISON. 

The findings reveal that a staggering level of distrust of the government existed long before its 1% pay proposals came to light, UNISON says. 

More than four in five (85%) say they are angry at how NHS staff are being treated by ministers, with only one in ten (10%) saying the government values NHS staff. 

With 100,000 NHS vacancies unfilled, keeping hold of experienced staff, who train, guide and mentor new recruits, is crucial to the future of the health service, the union says.

But the survey suggests more than six in ten (64%) are questioning their future in the health service over the government’s approach to pay, says UNISON. More than half (52%) say they are considering leaving the NHS in the next year, the union adds. 

Of those considering leaving, 44% want to bring forward their retirement plans and a fifth (22%) say the pandemic has made them want to leave ‘whatever happens’.

Nine in ten (91%) say a £2,000 pay increase would be a morale boost and 95% that it would make a "meaningful difference” to their lives, adds UNISON. 

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: "The public values NHS staff and wants them to have a decent pay rise. It's the time the government did too. 

"The UK has been dependent on health workers during both peaks, and we are not out of the woods yet. Taking health staff for granted is unacceptable and likely to result in more gaps in teams across the UK.

"Paying all health workers a minimum of £2,000 is an investment, not a cost. Staff should be properly rewarded for the work they've done, and as a third wave could be approaching, the work they will continue to do."

Dear UNISON member

IMPORTANT INFORMATION NEEDED

Yours sincerely,

Wales convenor     Wales secretary

Dominic

Dominic MacAskill
Regional Manager Rheolwr Rhanbarthol

UNISON Wales UNSAIN Cymru

e-mail / e-bost: d.macaskill@unison.co.uk

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Dear Colleague,

ROBIN HOOD TAX CAMPAIGN AND UNISON

Nine Welsh local authorities have already signed up to the Robin Hood Tax. Is your council one of them? We want all UNISON Cymru Wales branches to encourage their councils, AM and MP to sign up to the Robin Hood Tax, which could potentially deliver millions of pounds for public services in Wales.

Robin Hood Tax resources are attached for your use.

The PowerPoint presentation is also attached and below is a link to the councillor’s hub with model motions and briefings etc.

https://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk/local-councillors-hub

With best wishes,

Dominic

Dominic MacAskill 
Regional Manager Rheolwr Rhanbarthol 
UNISON Wales UNSAIN Cymru 
The Courtyard / Y Libart 
Wind Street 
Swansea / Abertawe 
SA1 1DP 
Phone / ffon: 01792 483918
e-mail / e-bost: d.macaskill@unison.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DomMacAskill